Make Believe
by Springflake
Summary: Naruto is Konoha High's most loved student and Sakura the most hated one. Attempting to bully the girl into transferring schools, Naruto pretends that he wants to be her friend. Nobody expects him to fall in love... NaruSaku. AU.
1. Risks

''Is that her?''

''I see what you mean, the freak.''

''She's got pink hair! I hate people who want to get attention this badly.'''

''I heard she's a nerd as well.''

''Look at that forehead, she might as well be the Hunchback of the Notredame.''

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. If all those people would just go away...

She opened her locker, quickly shoved the books she needed for the next class into her bag and then closed her locker again. As she stiffly made her way to the classroom, the rumoring and pointing continued.

It wasn't like she was not used to the rumors and the fact that she was looking down upon.

She didn't get why it was, really. It could be because her hair was naturally pink, not an usual color. It could also be because she got the highest grades in school... but she did not see the logic; Why would people hate someone just because that person is intelligent?

If somebody has a talent, shouldn't others be happy for them?

As Sakura made her way to her seat, she mentally cursed. She was seated in the back of the class, and to get to her seat she had to pass Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Yamanaka Ino. The three of them were the most popular students on Konoha High, and the people that hated her the very most.

She took a deep breath and tried walking as quickly as possible, but, before she knew it, a foot was stuck between her legs, causing her to trip.  
She let out a small shriek and fell down on the floor, knees first.

When she slowly looked up, the first thing she noticed was Ino's smug expression, ''My, my. I'm sorry, Sakura. I really didn't see you.''

Even though Sakura did not believe Ino for a second, she muttered, ''It's ok,'' she did not want to make things worse.

When she got up, a hand grabbed her shoulder.

She tried shaking it off, but the grip on her shoulder didn't loosen.

When she looked up, she noticed the person the hand belonged to was no one else than Uzumaki Naruto, ''I didn't hear you.''

''I said that it's ok.'' Sakura replied in a low voice.

''Really? Because I think you should be the one to apologise. You were the one that bumped into her leg in the first place.''

''He's right, you know. Apologise, Billboard-Brow.'' Ino threw in.

''But I didn't do a thing!'' Sakura stuttered. Oh how she wanted to cry... But she would not allow them to see her pain. She had to stay strong.  
''Apologise! Apologise! Apologise!'' The class quickly followed.

As she looked around for help, her gaze lingered on Sasuke. She had had a crush on him since elementary school. And even though he just sat there, with a smirk on his face and an expression that said, ''kiss my ass,'' just the view of him almost entranced her.

''Apologise! Apologise! Apologise! Apolo-'' The class chimed, only to be cut off by the teacher that entered the classroom.

Kakashi opened the door and walked straight to his desk, without looking up from the book he was reading for a second.

''-If anyone would like to spend this afternoon in my office instead of with their friends, please continue whatever you are doing. The rest, open up your text books on page sixty-eight. Sakura, sit down please.''

Sakura tried to ignore her classmates' muffled giggling, as she rushed to the back of the class.

''...Er... Sakura?''

Sakura looked up. Hinata, one of her classmates, had turned in her seat, so she was now facing Sakura.

''Are you hurt?'' The black haired girl asked her, fidgeting her thumbs, ''It was a mean thing they did...''  
''I'm fine, Hinata. Really.'' Sakura replied.

''...Er, I- ok.'' Hinata said, turning around again. The boy that sat next to her, Kiba, shot her a questioning look.

Sakura knew that Hinata, no matter how nice she was, didn't want to get too close to Sakura for she might be bullied as well. Sakura didn't blame her; she was probably right.

-

When the bell rang to announce the start of the lunch break, Sakura was the last to leave the classroom.

She walked straight up to her locker, and decided she would spend this break outside. The weather was beautiful today. And noticing it was spring, the temperature wasn't half bad either.

As she walked out of the door, she was greeted by a fresh breeze and the faint scent of flowers. She first passed a group of people that always used the school yard to smoke, and then a group of girls that started to giggle as soon as they caught sight of Sakura. She had learned to ignore people like them, so she walked on.

As soon as she turned around a corner and was about to sit down by the fountain, she noticed Naruto, Sasuke, Ino and a few more people whose names she didn't know sitting on a few benches that were shaded by trees.

Not wanting to get into trouble, she settled herself against one of the oak trees that were planted all over the school yard. When she sat down, she noticed how perfect this place was for a person like her. She was hidden from everybody's view by bushes that were planted around the tree, but she could hear everyone just fine.

About half way through the lunch break, Sakura's attention was caught by the conversation Ino, Naruto and Sasuke and their friends were having.

''You were great at the football game last Friday, Sasuke!'' Purred one of the girls that was sitting with them.

''And today we're gonna play even better.'' Naruto yelled a bit too loudly. He was probably annoyed because of the attention Sasuke got. Sakura rolled her eyes.

Naruto and Sasuke were the two star-players of the Wolves, Konoha High's football team. Sasuke was very talented, but Naruto had been training for years until he was finally allowed to enter the team.

He was pretty good right now, though. Sakura took a bite from her slice of bread.

Sakura usually not watched during the games, since she was never really interested in the sport. Nor did she look forward to watching all of the students that bullied her the very most showing off on the field.

Suddenly, the pink haired girl stopped chewing. She noticed the group had quieted down.

Just as she was about to leave her little hiding spot, the bushes that were hiding Sakura from the rest of the student's view were pushed aside roughly. Sakura's head snapped up from her lunch. There stood Ino.

''Well well, Sakura. Eavesdropping, aren't we?''

''No! I was just eating!'' Sakura retorted.

''As if you'd speak the truth,'' The blonde said, running a hand through her hair.

''I am! I don't eavesdrop!'' the rosette said, getting up so quickly that she had to hold on to the tree so she wouldn't fall.

''Well, seems like you need to be taught a lesson,'' Ino said, snatching Sakura's carton of milk out of her grip.

Before the pink haired girl could protest, the blonde tore open the carton and emptied it above her head.

Sakura let out a scream. All she could do was stand powerlessly as the white liquid wet her hair and slowly dripped down her chin and into her shirt.

Ino just opened her mouth to make another comment, when she was interrupted by somebody.

''Well, well, Barbie. Making another person's life miserable again?''

Sakura and Ino simultaneously turned their heads towards the person the voice belonged to. It was a red haired girl that looked about a year or two older than them. She had piercing red eyes and was quite tall, giving her an intimidating look.

Sakura recognised her as one of the people that were always smoking during the breaks.

''No one asked you anything, Karin.'' Ino muttered through clenched teeth, squeezing the carton she was holding so tightly that the remains of the milk streamed out.

''That's the fun thing about being me; I don't give a crap,'' She said. She popped a bubble of chewing gum between her teeth before continuing, ''Now be a good Barbie and piss off.''

Ino grunted, dropped the remains of the carton on the grass and walked over to her friends, who had all stopped talking and were looking in her direction, shooting her puzzled looks.

Sakura didn't notice her jaw had dropped until the girl named Karin said, ''Close your mouth, girl. I swallowed a fly like that once.''  
Sakura sweat-dropped and closed her mouth. ''I'm sorry... I am just not used to somebody... standing up for me,'' she then looked up at the redhead again, ''-Thank you.''

''It's no problem. You're Sakura, right?''

The pink haired girl nodded.

''You shouldn't let people like her push you around like that, you know.'' Karin said, offering Sakura a piece of paper.

The rosette accepted it, and attempted to dab her clothes dry with it, ''There are too many of them... I couldn't.''

''Look, pinkie, if you get bored of always being bullied, you can always join my friends and me in the breaks.''

Sakura didn't mind Karin's harsh words, she was obviously nice, just a bit tough.

''Thank you,'' Sakura smiled.

Before Karin could reply, though, the bell rung.

''Oh, crap. I'd better get to class,'' She muttered, ''keep your pecker up, ok?''

Sakura nodded, ''Bye!''

As she hurried to class, Sakura felt warm inside. Had she actually made a friend? It must be the first time since elementary school!

Back then, Sakura had many friends. Ino had been among them.

Then, one day, she and Ino discovered they both shared feelings for Uchiha Sasuke. That must have been the moment they started despising each other. They then were rivals.

In high school, Ino became surprisingly popular. She used her popularity to set everybody against Sakura. Soon, the poor girl was bullied by every person in her school. Among them was Naruto.

Back in elementary school he had a crush on Sakura. She was always very mean to him, though. Blinded by her love for Sasuke, she pushed the poor boy aside.

Then, in high school, he was popular as well. He no longer was the hyperactive, little brat he had been. He now was taller than Sakura, and was no longer cheeky to his teachers. He and Sasuke were best friends now, instead of rivals.

All together: it was payback time for Sakura. And boy they got her.

She had, unlike her friends, changed negatively. Since she didn't have any friends anyway, she thought there was no need to talk much like she had when she was younger. She also no longer was rude, unkind or made jokes. She felt it would only make matters worse.

Her once long, pink hair was cut off so it barely reached her shoulders, and she had become even more skinny than she already was. Her emerald eyes had become dim with loneliness.

Now, when she got home, all she did was study. She had nobody to talk to, and became depressed. Her parents didn't know what was wrong, so they pretended nothing was.

Many parents do that, you know. Because, if they don't make decision, they can't make a wrong one either.

-

The bell rung. The students all left the classroom chattering and laughing. They talked about their plans for the weekend.

Sakura got up slowly from her desk. During math class, she had not paid attention, but instead let her mind drift away. She loved doing that.

Looking at clouds through the window, and pretending those clouds were her. She could almost feel the wind carrying her, a million feet above everybody and everything she despised so much. They would all look up at her, wondering how come they recognised her from somewhere, and what it would be like to float in the sky.

As Sakura exited the school, she could hear the faint sounds of cheering from the football field. The whole school yard was deserted, aside from a paper bag that whirled over the tiles, carried by the warm spring breeze.

She closed her eyes to the bright sunlight. Oh how she loved sunshine. It was so warming and gave everything a familiar and friendly feel.  
Sakura looked around for her bicycle, but then remembered how she had found it two days ago, all scratched and beaten up. Her front wheel had been gone, and the rest had been so battered that she had to bring it to the dump. She had been walking from and to school ever-since.

She sighed and looked up at the sun again.

Even when all other things looked hopeless, there were single things that you could depend on. Like the fact that there will always be people who like you, and people who don't. Like there will always be life, no matter in what form. Like the fact that the sun will always rise again, even when you're not there to see it.

Yes, all Sakura had to do, was base herself on certainties.

There would be no risks.

* * *

_So how did you like the first chapter? Do you want me to work on something? _  
_Please tell me in a review! _

_~Lion3queen _


	2. Breathing

_''...huff...huff...'' _Sakura panted. She kept her eyes on the road underneath her feet, watching tile after tile appear and dissapear in and out of her line of vision. She was jogging.

It was a Friday evening, and the sun had just begun to set.

It was dinner time, so the town had quieted down. All Sakura heard was the blowing of the wind and the tapping noise that her running shoes made as they collided with the pavement.

She loved jogging. She loved every second of it.

When she jogged, she just chose a place to run to and took off. Nobody bullied her when she was running. She had time to think about all kinds of things; life, death, her dreams... and just thought!

When she had closed the kitchen door behind her, she noticed the setting sun from the corners of her eyes and and just started running towards it.  
Everywhere she looked were things that normally didn't stand out. Things like street lanterns, stone benches and waste bins. In the light of the sun though, they were mesmerizing. They were coloured a bright orange, and seemed to sparkle and shine in the light.

Sakura smiled. Maybe, one day, something like that would happen to her. She would no longer be the boring, ugly waste bin. She would shine. She would shine brightly. So bright, that when people looked at her, they would cry from the deepest of their hearts.

All she needed to accomplish that, was a sun.

About half an hour later, Sakura returned to her house. She looked up at the now dark sky for one last time, before opening up the kitchen door and going inside.

She instantly covered her ears. Her parents were shouting at each other.

''-You don't give a shit whether Sakura and me are happy or not! Our daughter is obviously suffering from depression and I don't know why and all you do is work!'' That was her mother.

''If you come home, you are always drunk!'' Her mother continued, ''Get out of the house. Get out!''

She could now see them. They were in the hallway.

Her mother was pointing one finger at her husband accusingly. He was walking backwards, looking quite unimpressed. He was obviously drunk.  
Her dad now stood with his back against the front door. Sakura took a few steps in the direction of the hallway, wondering whether to do something or not.

''You're the crazy one,'' It was hard to understand her father's drunken mumbling, but he was talking loudly, ''You should be getting out of the house, I'm the one who's paying the bills.''

''What bills? What damn' bills? You haven't been going to your work for a week! I was called by your boss today, you are fired! We are completely broke, Phill. We're broke!'' Her mother hung her head.

Sakura's dad mumbled something that sounded like, ''You know what? I had sex with Anne last night, and guess what?'' Her father licked his lips, ''She was better than you.''

Then her mother's head snapped up, ''That's it. Get out of the house!''

When her father didn't show any signs of wanting to leave, the woman opened the door and pushed him out.

''Go die, you asshole!'' She shouted at him. As he turned around to walk down the small stone steps, he tripped and managed to catch himself just in

time.

Sakura's mother slammed the door shut behind her husband. For a second, she looked like she didn't care, but the opposite was proved as the red haired woman started shivering and then collapsed on the floor. She buried her face in her hands and started crying.

Sakura was not sure what to do. She wasn't good with crying people. She never cried.

Having watched the previous scene, she was ready to puke. But she did not shed a tear.

Sakura bit her lip as she walked up to her mom and helped her up.

''Come, mom. It's alright, everything will be ok.'' the pinkette shushed her sobbing mother.

She half-dragged, half-carried the red haired woman into the kitchen and helped her sit down on one of the kitchen chairs. She then turned on the water boiler and grabbed a glass teacup and a tea bag.

As she looked at her mother over her shoulder, she sighed, dropped the tea bag in the cup and then filled it with boiling hot water.

Sakura's parents fought often lately. They had once be a loving and happy family, but slowly but surely things started falling apart. The love in their family crumbed down slowly, one piece at time, until all that was left was an uncertain future and piles of debts and unpaid bills.

Her dad had become an alcaholic and started dating other women. He thought his wife didn't know anything about it, but she did. She just knew that, when she confronted him with it, that would mean that everything was truly over.

Of course, it already was over. Every hint of happiness had disappeared from their family a long time ago.

But when you don't stop believing, you can make everything seem like there still is hope. A chance on luck. A better life.

...Even when the conscious part of you tells you you're being silly.

''Here, mom,'' Sakura said, putting down the cup of tea on the table and shoving it in her mother's direction. The woman had put her arms down on the table and rested her head on them. Even though Sakura wasn't able to see her mother's face, the slight shocking of her shoulders revealed the fact that she was still crying.

The pink-haired teen understood that she wouldn't be able to help anymore, and walked up the stairs and into her room.

She instantly walked up to her bed and fell down on it, without even kicking her shoes off.

'Everything'll be alright soon. I just know it.' was the last thing that crossed her mind before she fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.

* * *

As Sakura feared, her father did not come back. In fact, she didn't know if he was even alive.

She had asked a few of his friends whether they knew where he was, and they had all replied that he had taken Maria, the girl whom he had cheated on her mother with, and just left.

''They just rode off to the sunset,'' one of the middle-aged men had told her, shrugging his shoulders.  
Sakura had thanked them and gone home.

It was obvious that her mother wasn't able to take a job right now. She still broke down crying now and then.

''Just a few... memories,'' She would answer Sakura, when she asked what was wrong.

All she did was sit on her favourite arm chair, and watch TV. At least... That was what it looked like. If Sakura looked close enough, she could see her mother's attention wasn't on the tv screen, but at the window behind it.

As if she still expected her husband to come back.

''Haruno! Snap out of it!'' Someone barked into her right ear.

Sakura's head snapped up, and she looked into the faces of two elderly women. One of them was holding a carton of milk out to her. She had spaced out on the spot. When Sakura looked to her right, she saw a middle-aged man standing next to her, with crossed arms. He was tapping his foot on the linoleum floor impatiently.

''I'm sorry, mr. Stephens,'' The pinkette told him. Her boss was a balding man who always wore a knotted tie that was secured a little too tightly, as well as a smug expression. She was working as a cashier to gain some extra money to help her mother out in the time she wasn't able to, but he wasn't making the job easy for her.

''If I see you space out one more time, l'll be sure to fire you, missy.''

Sakura nodded at the man, and took the carton of milk from the old lady, muttering an apology to her as well.

To her surprise, as soon as Mr Stephens was out of sight, the lady winked and whispered, ''I feel bad for you, girly. You have to deal with that man everyday.''

Sakura moved the carton of milk through the laser that read the bar code, showing her the prize that needed to be paid for the product.

To her own surprise, Sakura couldn't suppress a smile. ''I'll be ok. That's one dollar and fifty cents, please.''

The woman handed the girl the money, and took a hold of the plastic bag that held her milk.

''Hurry up, Chiyo!'' Her friend shouted, tugging the said woman's sleeve.

Sakura chuckled as she watched the women leave the supermarket through the automatic sliding doors, giggling like high school girls. She hoped she

would be like that when she was their age.

At around half past ten, the supermarket was closed. The rest of the employees had already left, but Sakura was ordered to clean up the spilled products in the clearances, and turn off the lights.

Oh how she hated her job. The building gave her the creeps, especially at night. There were shadows everywhere, and one could never be sure wether the shadow belonged to a pile of boxes or a murderous rapist.

She tried decreasing her fright by humming a tune. It was the only tune she knew inside out. Her mother used to sing it to her when she had trouble falling asleep. Sakura sighed at the memory.

After she finally finished cleaning, Sakura locked up the store.

She once again made the mistake to search for her own bike among the other forgotten ones that were standing by the exit, leaning against the stone walls of the building. She sighed and took in the street.

The sky was pitch-black, causing the street to be dark as well. It was also totally empty, and full of Sakura's so very beloved shadows. The girl shivered and started walking the route to her house stiffly, trying to make as little noise as possible.

When she was about half-way, she thought she heard footsteps, aside from her own. She clutched her white bag in her hands and started walking faster. She timidly looked behind her, and could just make out somebody's silhouette. Her eyes widened as the person passed a street lantern, becoming visible to her for a few seconds. It was a man that looked about thirty years old, and wore a dirty, dark green hoodie with the words, 'no, I'm not on fucking facebook,' on it.

Sakura gulped. This man looked like a classical example of one of the people her mom had meant when she told her daughter not to talk to strangers.  
What could she do?

Sakura over thought her options; she could either run away and risk the chance on him catching up with her, she could scream and risk the chance on the man following her not-being a creep and a penalty for breach of peace, or she could take a shortcut to her home, so she would be home sooner and had a big chance of shaking the man off.

The third option seemed the best one, so she turned around a nearby corner, into an alleyway. She knew for a fact that it led to an enormous maze of alleys that led to every location in town. She also knew she shouldn't come here, especially at night, but she had a bigger chance of returning to her house healthy this way.

She had to duck and slalom her way through the small street, since it was littered with waste bins, old carton boxes, garbage and refuse bags. To her own abomination, she noticed that the iron fence at the end of the alley wasn't open like it was during the day, but closed. A big, rusty chain lock prevented it from being opened.

She looked over her shoulder swiftly, and when she noticed the man was coming closer steadily, she started shaking the fence panic-stricken. But even though it made loud clanging and creaking noises, it didn't move an inch.

She made a desparate jump for the top of the fence, and to her own surprise, she made it!

Sakura was now hanging from the fence. She took a deep breath, moved her arm over it and pulled herself up.

The pink-haired girl let out a small shriek as a hand closed around her ankle, and for one single, panicky moment she thought she was going to fall down, at the mercy of the man. He would be able to do whatever he wanted with her. But fortunately, her momentary loss of balance caused her to fall forward. The weight was too much for the man that was attempting to pull her down, so his grip on her foot loosened and Sakura landed on a pile of moist carton boxes.

The fall wasn't completely painless, but she didn't even feel it. All she knew was that she needed to get away from the man that was staring at her throught the fence, with cold, merciless eyes and a grin that was filled with teeth that were a yellow-ish brown. There were some missing occasionally.  
A shiver went down Sakura's spine, before she remembered she had to get out of this place, stood up and ran as fast as her skinny legs could carry her.

Luckily, running was one of the things she was good at.

A wave of relief washed over her as she noticed a large amount of light coming from the end of the alley, she knew, led to a street that was only one block away from her house. She slowed down a bit, realising this street wasn't empty. There were cars driving to and from.

She let out a sigh she didn't know she had been holding in, realising she was finally safe.

The girl closed her eyes as she almost reached the end of the alleyway, expecting to soon enter the street. Oh how she longed for the bright, enlighted billboards and the crowd that was treading on the pavement.

You can imagine how surprised she was when a hand grabbed her by the throat, pulled her back and slammed her against the wall.

* * *

Naruto yawned audibly. Man, he was tired.

He knew he shouldn't have accepted Ino's and Sasuke's offer to go to the newly opened club tonight, but it had all seemed amazing.

Not that it hadn't been fun or anything, though. It had been cool. Going out is just not as much fun when your eyelids are drooping and you can't think straight.

Now, for example, he could swear he saw Billboard-Brow walking in an alleyway on the opposite side of the street.

Naruto stopped walking. 'Wait, Billboard-Brow?'

He narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better view of the girl, but his vision was blurred. Maybe those six beers had not been such a good idea.

Huh? Was his mind playing tricks on him, or was there really a man walking behind her?

For some reason, she was smiling, and her eyelids were closed.

Should he help her?

...Wait, of course he should! She might be a freak, but she was still a human being.

He waited a few minutes for a chance to cross the street, but then decided those cars formed a non-stopping line.

When he looked at the alleyway where he saw Sakura, he noticed she was now gone, as well as the man that had been walking behind her. That alarmed him. It wasn't possible she had exited the alleyway and walked all the way out of this street in such a short time.

'Let's try it the New york-way' the blond thought with a smirk, before crossing the street. He didn't look to the left or right, nor did dodge the cars that rode towards him.

He didn't even flinch when a car halted with shrieking tires, almost knocking the boy off of his feet.

This way wasn't the most careful or the smartest one, but neither of these abilities were one of his good qualities, so he ignored it and kept  
walking carelessly, pretending not to take notice of the angry drivers and the things they were shouting at him.

When he reached the sidewalk, he didn't hesitate, but made straight for the alleyway.

* * *

Sakura gasped as the man slammed her against the wall. She felt as if all of the air was knocked out of her lungs.

''Why hello there, little girl,'' He whispered ''what are you doing in a place like this all by yourself?''

Sakura frowned at the smell of his breath. It smelled like rotten eggs and something else she couldn't quite place.

''Please let me go,'' She hissed. She tried keeping her face clear from any expression like she did normally, but it was hard when she was scared like she was right now.

''I'm afraid I can't,'' the man replied, ''don't worry. This won't hurt.''

He grimaced, and tried zipping down her vest. Sakura's eyes widened.

She tried kicking the man, but he only chuckled and tightened his grip on her neck.

He was strangling her.

''...C-can't...breathe...'' She managed to whisper.

''Don't worry, little girl. This will all be over soon,'' Was the only reply she got.

She tried looking at the street, to see if somebody could help her, but found they were hidden from everybody's sight by a huge, iron garbage can. She squeezed her eyes shut.

Just as she was about to lose hope, the hand that had been strangling her left her neck, ''Argh!''

Sakura gasped, filling her lungs with the fresh night air. When she opened up her eyes, she noticed somebody had pulled the man off of her. That person now slammed him against the wall and punched him in the jaw four times before releasing him. The man didn't fight back, but instead seemed to realise that his attacker was much stronger and left the alleyway, running like crazy. Both Sakura and her rescuer were panting from exertion and tension.  
She couldn't see her rescuer's face, for he was wearing a hood and didn't face her, but was determined to thank him.

''Er... sir?'' she started, still panting a bit.

The person turned his face in her direction, but she still couldn't make out more than his hood.

''Thank you very much,'' the pink haired teen continued, fidgeting the strings from her vest nervously.

'I should give this person something... anything,' She thought.

But she did not have any time to think, as her rescuer turned around, muttered something that sounded like, ''It's ok,'' and left the alleyway.

She thought she recognised his voice from somewhere, but dismissed it.

After all, she didn't know any people that would help her if she were in danger.

* * *

A few days later, during lunch break, Sakura sat in the canteen. It was raining outside, so the whole room was stuffed with chattering and eating students.

She hated the canteen. It was an unnecessary big room that looked very plain because of the colours that were picked for decorating it; mainly white and grey. The only source of light came from some circular lamps that hung from the ceiling, for the clouds were blocking the sun from everybody's view, and the floor consisted of white tiles. The only furniture consisted of long, iron tables that were placed all over the room. They were hardly noticeable now, though, as they were littered with students. Some were sitting on the tables, some were reading on the long iron benches, and hell, some were even lying on them!

Each and every one of them looked content and happy.

Sakura, though, was sitting on the very end of one of the tables, as far away from the rest of the students as she could manage without falling off of the bench she was sitting on. Her head was hanging and her pose was hunched up. Every person that didn't know her, would think she had just been dumped, or something shallow like that.

In truth, she hoped this way she wouldn't attract attention.

She tried focusing her attention on her lunch; a simple sandwich, like always.

When Sakura finished her meal, she opened her bag and searched it for her English homework. She had forgotten to do it at home. In fact, she never did her homework. She usually did it during the breaks. She sighed and searched her bag for a pen.

suddenly, she noticed the bag was pulled out of her grasp. She slowly looked up from underneath the pink bangs that were covering her face, affraid of who she would find standing there.

...And right she was, for there stood Naruto.

''Hey there, Forehead,'' He said, curling the left corner of his mouth up in a toothy smirk.

''Please give me back my bag,'' Sakura said, not reacting on the nickname she was given by the blond.

''Hm, dunno,'' He said, tapping his chin, ''maybe I should look inside first. Who knows, you might just keep some drugs in there or something,''

Another guy, Shikamaru Nara, walked up to Naruto and Sakura, so he was now standing next to his friend. He had his hands in his pockets, and wore an extremely bored expression.

''Give me my bag,'' Sakura hissed. She was getting mad now.

Naruto ignored her comment and opened her white bag, digging in it with his hands, ''Gee, Forehead. Where's all the exiting stuff? I thought girls always brought interesting things to school.''

Sakura was about to try grasping for her bag, when Naruto started smirking.

''Hey, Nara. Look at this,'' He said, holding up a small book with a red, fabric cover, ''It's a diary.''

Sakura thought she was going to puke, ''G-give me... C-can I please...''

'''March 22th. Dear Diary, today was a normal day, I went to school and such,'' Naruto raised his voice, ignoring Sakura's pleas, ''I saw Sasuke, though. Every time I glance at him, I feel like my heart is going on a rampage,''

Sakura put her hands over her mouth, as the other students slowly started snickering. They didn't try muffling their snickers, either. Soon Sakura's ears were filled with roaring laughter.

''-I can't describe it, it's such an unearthy feeling, I can't believe I'm feeling like this. It's impossible. He's so cool and popular and beautiful, and I'm-''

'SLAP!'

Everybody fell silent, as a loud, smacking noise echoed through the canteen.

Naruto just stood there, with widened eyes.

He didn't even move his hand to the cheek where Sakura had just punched him.

Sakura hadn't moved either. Her fist was still held out in front of her.

The only thing that had changed was her expression, which had gone from anger, to shock, to fear.

She lowered her fist, grabbed her diary and her bag, and ran away with as much speed as she could muster.

The students could only gape at the pink haired girl as she ran through the canteen doors and the soft tapping of her footsteps faded, leaving them behind with nothing but the sound of their own breathing.

* * *

_Hohoho, hope y'all like drama!_  
_Don't worry guys, everything'll get better for Sakura soon._  
_~Lion3queen_


	3. Slumber

You could hear a pin drop in the canteen of Konoha High school.

The silence lasted, even minutes after Sakura had stormed out of the canteen.

It seemed like the whole scene had frozen on the spot; even the sounds of the raindrops colliding with the thin roof and the windows had become silent. Then, slowly, a few students started whispering to each other. The whispering became louder and louder, until it was talking. The world seemed to start turning again. The awkwardness, though, lasted.

_'Sakura Haruno has fought back against one of the popular students? What kind of crazy universe is this?' _was what crossed most of the teens' minds.

The two boys that stood in the middle of the canteen didn't move, until the raven haired one of the two of them sighed and snapped his fingers in front of his friend's face, ''Hey, Naruto. Snap out of it,''

Naruto blinked a few times, and then looked around dully, taking in his surroundings.

''You ok?'' Shikamaru questioned.

''Yeah, I'm fine,'' Naruto replied. He didn't _look_ fine, though. As the teens approached the table their friends were sitting on, they pretended not to notice the awkward glances the other students that were sitting in the canteen shot them.

''Er... Hey there, you guys,'' Ino started awkwardly, taking notice of the stony features that were on Naruto's face at the moment. She knew him well enough to recognise his face's current expression; If he wore it, it was duck and hide for every person within a distance of 100 feet. Or more, if he was in a really, _really _bad mood.

Every person that was sitting around the table gulped simultaneously. Shikamaru sat down next to his best friend Chouji. They formed an odd duo; Shikamaru with his raven ponytail and permanent bored expression, and Chouji being the chubbiest one in the group, often wearing cheerful smile that was only emphasised by his plump cheeks and brisk, dark brown eyes.

Naruto sat down next to Ino, glaring at the iron surface of the table.

''Here, take a coke,'' Kiba said, holding a can of Coca-Cola zero out to Naruto, attempting to calm him down. Naruto accepted it. His friends all watched him suspiciously.

Unfortunately, just when the blond opened the can, Lee walked up to their table, and slapped Naruto on the back, ''So, got punched by a girl, eh? And not_ just _a girl, you got punched by Sakura Haruno! What a youthful story; Naruto, football player and one of the most popular students, got punched by Sakura, the school outcast!''

Lee was the head of the school paper, and, even though he was a nice guy, never rejected a good front page story, not even when somebody could get hurt by it. Naruto knew very well that now the small part of the school that didn't just witness the scene live, would know about it. He narrowed his eyes.

His friends looked down at the can that Naruto was holding; he was squeezing it so tightly that the brown liquid poured out of it through the hole in the top of the can.

''Lee, come over here!'' A high pitched voice called out to the black haired boy.

"Coming, Tenten!" He yelled back at her, ''I shall see you later, my friends.''

The students that were sitting at the table nodded at the raven haired boy as he made his way through the canteen, looking so upbeat that he seemed to _dance_.

Naruto was silent for about ten minutes, until the conversation his friends were having gained his attention.

''Sakura is getting arrogant.'' Ino remarked. She ran a hand through her platinum blonde hair before continuing, ''I've known her about my whole life... And I can tell you, when she's arrogant, you have to do something about it 'cause the bitch is _crazy.'' _

''I know that look,'' Shikamaru said, ''You've got a plan.''

The blonde licked her lips and then smirked, ''I've got a plan.''

Naruto arched an eyebrow, curious for what was coming next. After all, Ino was the queen of payback and making people suffer. Both physically and mentally.

* * *

Sakura looked up at the clouds. Her eyes were narrowed to protect them from the sunlight.

She was walking the streets in town. After the pinkette had stormed out of the canteen earlier that day, she had made her way to the centre of town. She had skipped out on the lessons that followed.

She knew she had to go home soon, but did not let that thought bother her. The sun wouldn't set for at least two hours, and what did she have to return to? A mother that did nothing but stare out of the window? A pile of bills to pay? A dark, dusty room that she was to sleep in?  
Sakura frowned. She wasn't sure if she would go to school tomorrow. In fact, she wasn't sure if she would _ever _return to school. The other students were probably making plans to make her pay for what she did; namely punching the school's most popular student.

Sakura covered her face with her hands. What had she done?

She had lost control for just a second. Just one, unfortunate second, and ruined everything. Naruto had just made her so... so _angry_. He had made fun of her feelings for Sasuke. The single thing that she was sure of; The single thing that she didn't have to share; The single thing that kept her standing.

She knew it were just useless, unrequited feelings, but to the miserable girl they meant a lot. After all, the good thing about not having much is that you learn to treasure everything you _do_ have.

Later that afternoon, when the first hints of orange appeared in the sky among the soft blue, Sakura decided she should head home. She walked the main street until she caught sight of her street. By the time Sakura reached her house, the sky was pitch black and the air had cooled down so much that she had to hug her arms around herself to keep warm.

She opened up the kitchen door and reluctantly entered her house. As she expected, the house was as dark as the sky above. She didn't bother turning the lights on as she removed her shoes and her vest and walked towards the hallway. On the way to the stairs, she passed the door that led to the living room and spotted her mom, sitting on her favourite arm chair, underneath her favourite painting. The painting showed a vulture sitting on a treetop.

Vultures were the animals she hated the most; they were hateful creatures. They took advantage of others' misery. They fed on rotten bodies and lost hope.

Sakura tore her gaze away from the painting and directed it on the woman sitting on the chair. The light coming from the moon outside stroking the left side of her body made it visible that her head was resting on her shoulder and her eyes were closed. The blanket that was normally covering her had slipped off, so it was now lying on the floor. Sakura picked it up and softly covered her mother's legs with it.

''Goodnight, mom,'' She whispered as she closed the curtains and left the room, trying to make as little noise as possible.

* * *

The next day Sakura was woken up by the loud beeping of her alarm clock, and the sunlight creeping in through her window. Reluctantly, she got out of bed and took a short shower.

She decided she would go to school today. After all, not going would just be postponing her fate; in the end, she would have to return to school anyway. But she just felt as if she was not ready enough. She had no idea how the other students would treat her after yesterday, or whether she would survive to begin with.

Sakura closed her eyes and allowed the warm water to soak her hair and her body.

After about two minutes she unwillingly turned off the shower. She never showered very long, that way she saved money that would otherwise be spent on a bill.

The teen pulled on a red hoodie, some jeans and worn out Allstars that had once been pink, but were now coloured a greyish beige, and walked down the stairs.

When she got downstairs, the first thing she did was opening up the curtains in the living room -earning a disapproving grunt from her mother- and opening up the back door so the fresh wind could spread the delicious scent of spring through the dusty house. Sakura gasped as a furry, white thing brushed past her leg, before realising that it was just her cat.

''Primrose,'' Sakura sighed, ''you scared me.''

The cat turned it's head in her direction, taking in the teenage girl with it's big, yellow eyes, before yelping a high pitched, ''Meow!'' and dashing off to one of Sakura's beloved flower beds. During summer, she spent entire weekends caring for the daisies, pansies, roses, daffodils, tulips, sunflowers, lilies, magnolias, poppies and her favourite flowers; primroses. The flower she had named her cat after.

Oh how she loved her garden; in the last sixteen years she had managed to change it from a dump into a paradise. There were white, ivy-grown, stone walls surrounding the whole place. There was a mosaic terrace in the middle of the sea of colourful flowers, underneath an arc of ivy. There were bunches of grapes dangling from it, like cheerful decorations, and there was a small river streaming right through the garden, giving the whole place a mysterious but also very lively feel. Parts of the river were overshadowed by lush trees with pink flowers; cherry trees. The sun shone on it from sunrise to sunset, so the entire day the garden was bathing in the sunlight. Also, the many colours and overwhelming odours coming from the flowers attracted butterflies, ladybugs, bees and wasps. Sakura didn't mind them, they did no harm to the plants or to herself, if she just let them be. Which she did.

Sakura's eyes flicked over to the cherry trees again. She adored those trees. Not only did they have the most beautiful blossoms and the most delicious scent, Sakura was also named after them. After all, 'Sakura' meant 'cherry blossom'.

She listened to the sounds coming from outside; the noises from the nearby highway, the clattering from the river and the cheerful chirping of the birds, before remembering that she had to eat some breakfast; she would need the energy for the bullying that she would have to endure in the course of the day. She walked towards the kitchen, where she made tea and a sandwich, which she ate hastily, while stuffing her bag with the books that were needed for today's classes.

As Sakura entered the school grounds, she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut, not knowing what to expect.

...Maybe complete silence, or groups of students that lunged themselves at her.

For some reason, she got neither. The petite teen slowly opened her emerald eyes, scanning the schoolyard for anything that was out of the ordinary. She found nothing. As usual, the place was littered with groups of chattering and laughing students, here and there stood oak trees, proudly swaying their leaves in the wind and some bicycles, in and around the stands. Sakura took a big gulp of air and gave her white shoulder-bag a nervous squeeze, before striding off towards the building. She looked around swiftly, still on her guard.

In the third period, Sakura was still not made fun of. That fact made her suspicious; there was no way the students would let her get away with what she did.

She looked around the classroom. Most of the students were dozing off; they were either fixing their gaze on the wall behind the teacher without actually seeing anything, or looking out of the window. The students that _were_concentrated, weren't concentrated on the teacher in front of the classroom, but on their cellphones. Sakura was the only one really paying attention. As always.

The bell rung to announce the end of the period and the start of the lunch break. The teacher that was standing in front of the classroom waved his hand absentmindedly, dismissing the class for the morning. Sakura walked up to the math teacher, instead of exiting the classroom with the rest of her classmates.

''Er... Mr. Sarutobi?'' Sakura started, trying to gain the man's attention.

''W-What? _What?_'' The man yelled. He looked around swiftly until his gaze lingered on the pink haired girl before him. He smiled, recognising the straight-a student right away.

_'It's amazing how a single smile can make a person look so much younger,'_Sakura thought.

''Can I help you, Sakura?'''

''Yes, I was wondering whether you could explain the abc-formula again.''

As Mr. Sarutobi explained the exact purpose of the math formula, Sakura just pretended to listen, and made sure to nod once in a while. In truth, she wasn't curious at all. She was reluctant to leave the classroom and the safety that the adult, unknowingly, offered.

''-does that answer your question?'' mr Sarutobi finished.

Sakura's eyes flicked over to the man, ''Er... what? Oh, right. It's all clear, thank you very much!''

''Ok, then. If you have any other questions, please wait until tomorrow's class. I have a meeting I need to attend.'' the old man said, leaving in a hurry.

Sakura sighed. There was no escaping her fate. She poked her head out of the classroom, searching the hallway for any signs of Naruto or his friends. When there was none, she rushed to her locker. Looking around swiftly, the pinkette opened up her locker, shoved the books she needed for the next period into her bag and hurried to the main exit, intending to spend the rest of break outside.

She dove through the heavy doors, for once not noticing the nice weather and beautiful surroundings, but dashing off to one of her hiding places. She was stopped, though, by a hand that closed around her arm and pulled her closer. And for one, panicky moment, she thought it was Naruto.

Relief washed over her as she noticed the red hair and glasses that belonged to Karin. She had been smoking with her friends, when she noticed Sakura running through the doors.

''Why're you running so fast, girl?''

''-Er... I... Just wanted to get some fresh air,'' Sakura said. It wasn't a lie, technically.

''Ok then,'' Karin said, dismissing the fright that was written all over Sakura's face when Karin had grabbed her arm seconds before.

''Hey, Karin! Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?'' somebody called out to the redhead.

''Quiet, Suigetsu!'' She snapped, earning a low whisper that sounded like, ''Whatever, four-eyes,'' from the guy named Suigetsu.

Karin turned her back to Sakura, ''Hey, you guys!''

Her friends turned their heads in the two girls' direction. Karin placed one hand on her hip, and used the other to point her thumb at the student behind her without casting her a glance, ''this is Sakura.''

Sakura brushed the bangs out of her face, ''...Er, hi you guys.''

The group of people didn't answer, they looked from Sakura to Karin, wonder written all over their faces.

''She's ok, you bunch of big babies,'' Karin sighed.

The guy that stood the closest to Karin and Sakura was the first to break the silence. ''Nice to meet you,'' he said, smiling. Sakura flinched. This guy looked just like Sasuke!

...Well, aside from the fact that he looked a few years older, and the marks underneath his eyes.

''I'm Itachi,'' the raven haired guy continued.

Oh, she remembered! She had once heard Naruto and Sasuke talking about Sasuke's big brother. They had said that his name was Itachi, and that he went to the same school they did.

So was it possible... That this guy was Sasuke's brother?

Sakura could only gape at him. Luckily for her, Karin turned around and shot her a glance that said, _''Say something, you douchebag!''_

The pinkette restored herself, ''Likewise!''

He nodded, ''These people are Kisame, Deidara, Hidan, Tobi, Konan, Kakuzu, Pein, Zetsu, Sasori, Jugo and Suigetsu.''

Every person from the group nodded. As Sakura took in the seniors, she couldn't help but think this was the strangest group of people that she had ever seen. All of them wore at least one thing that was black, looked like they would be able to kill her without ever feeling sorry, and already seemed to hate her guts. The girl gulped audibly.

Sakura wasn't able to see Karin's face, but her stiff posture revealed the fact that she was annoyed, ''Come on, Sakura. Let's go somewhere else.''

But just as the girls were about to leave the group behind, they were startled by a voice coming from behind them, ''Miss Karin!''

''Fuck,'' the redhead hissed. A teacher was running over to them. Sakura recognised him as mr. Asuma.

''Am I mistaken, or is it true that you skipped out on the first three periods?''

Karin didn't answer, but instead hung her head.

''That's what I thought,'' Asuma said, taking his trademark cigarette out of his mouth, ''Come with me, young lady.''

Karin sighed in defeat, cast Sakura an apologetic glance and mouthed the words _'watch it, Jaws' _at Suigetsu when he snickered, covering his mouth with his fist. Sakura guessed the nickname was based on the guy's weirdly pointed teeth.

Sakura sighed. She smiled at the group of seniors before turning her back to them. She never knew how to act in front of people she knew didn't like her. At all.

As she walked away from Karin's friends, she caught sight of the large fountain that adorned the school yard. There was a stone statue in the middle of it, of what probably was Konoha high school's founder. It was a stern looking man with a nose that was pretty big in proportion to the rest of his face, that was, for some reason, surrounded by fish and mermaids that spewed sparkling water.

_'The artist must have been on crack,' _crossed Sakura's mind, as she took in the weird statue. She hadn't noticed she had spoken her thoughts aloud until she heard somebody's voice from right behind her, ''Yeah, probably.''

She spun around, only to see Naruto standing there. His bag was hanging around his shoulder carelessly, a can of coke was in his left hand and he was using his right one to shade his eyes from the bright sunlight. He was studying the statue on top of the fountain closely. Sakura couldn't help but flinch and take a few steps back. Naruto tore his eyes away from the fountain, and directed it on the pink haired girl.

''I won't bite,'' he said, but then smirked and added, ''...hard.''

Sakura knew he was joking, but she could barely suppress the urge to shrink away from him. When after a few minutes the pinkette still hadn't said anything, he realised she wasn't planning on answering him.

''Look,'' he sighed, ''I'm sorry.''

Sakura's jaw dropped, ''...You're _what?_''

''I said I'm sorry. I went too far yesterday.''

Sakura could only gape at him._ 'Why is he saying this?' _

''Stop saying things you don't mean,'' She muttered.

''I'm serious,'' Naruto replied, running a hand through his golden spikes.

Sakura let a low chuckle escape her lips, ''no, you aren't. You never apologise. I punched you, my life is supposed to be over now.''

He sat down on the stone wall that surrounded the fountain, resting his arm on his knee and his head, in turn, on his hand. He looked up at Sakura. She couldn't make out what kind of look there was in his blue eyes; whether it was hate, amusement, sadness, happiness... This boy was a mistery to her. Then his eyes flicked over to a place on the wall he was sitting on a few times. Sakura decided to keep standing and pretend she was stupid. When he didn't give up but kept flicking over his eyes to the wall, she gave in and sat down beside him. They were silent for a few minutes.

''I know why you punched me, and I deserved it. I shouldn't have read your diary,'' Naruto said, leaning back with closed eyes, obviously enjoying the sunlight, ''That's the worst thing that could happen to a girl, isn't it? To read her diary? Ino said so.''

Sakura couldn't suppress a soft chuckle, ''...It's not the very worst, but it's close.''

He was silent. Sakura didn't trust him. She doubted she ever would.

Minutes passed without the two teens talking to each other. They just sat there, enjoying the sunlight on their skin and the soft breeze stroking their faces. Sakura kept shooting Naruto suspicious glances from the corners of her eyes. But Naruto pretended he didn't notice it.

After a few minutes, they were startled by the loud ringing of the bell. Sakura looked around reluctantly, remembering she had History class from mr Iruka. She had History together with Naruto, too.

''Want me to walk to class with you?'' Naruto asked, getting up from the wall.

Sakura didn't notice he was talking to her at first, ''Er... What?''

''I asked you whether you want me to walk to class with you,'' the blond repeated, rolling his eyes.

''I'll be fine,'' Sakura stammered, not bothering to suppress the slight, concentrated narrowing of her eyes as she tried to figure out what Naruto's real intentions were. Because of course, he wasn't doing this out of kindness. He couldn't be.

...Could he?

Sakura turned her back to the teen and started walking in the direction of the main building.

''Don't be a baby, let me walk to class with you,'' He said, trying to keep up with the pink haired girl. Sakura pursed her lips at Naruto's troublesomeness. She knew he could be annoying, loud and rude at times. But, she also knew that when Naruto wanted something, he wasn't going to give up. She knew that, no matter what one tells him to do, in the end he would always listen to his heart. She had known him long enough to know everything about him that made him stand out from the rest. He had bad _and_ good qualities, even if he didn't always show. That's what made him, well, _Naruto._

''Come on, Sakura. It won't kill you,'' He nagged.

Sakura rolled her eyes, realising she wasn't going to win this, ''Fine. Walk to the stupid class with me.''

She didn't look at him, but she could _feel _he was smirking triumphantly. They entered the classroom, and to Sakura's astonishment none of the students looked up or started whispering and pointing at them. Naruto walked straight up to his friends. They all smiled cocky smiles at the blond as he approached them, and they started laughing and talking loudly, as always. But, for some reason, as Sakura passed their seats, nobody tripped her. There were no drinks thrown at her. There were no rude comments. There was nothing.

Barely believing it, she increased speed as she closed the distance between her and her seat. She threw down her bag and sat down quickly. She didn't trust all this. She didn't. She slowly peered up through her bangs, taking in the rest of her classmates. They were all acting normal. Shino had turned around in his seat, facing Kiba and Hinata. They were whispering to each other about some soccer game. Before them were Naruto, Sasuke, Ino and Shikamaru. Ino had stood up from her stool, and was now imitating somebody. She pointed her finger up the bridge of her nose, as if she was wearing glasses, and was hunched up, supporting her back with her other arm. From the looks of it, she was imitating the schools' receptionist. Her friends were laughing at the imitation. On the seats in the middle of the class, were seated Lee. Neji and Tenten, that were discussing a movie from the sounds of it. Behind them sat Gaara, all by himself. He was reading a book and bobbing his head to the music that was coming from his iPod. The seat behind his was empty. And on the row of seats in the left row, sat Sai, in the back of the glass. Judging from the piece of paper on his table and the pencil in his hand, he was drawing. In front of his seat sat Takuya, turned around in her seat and admiring Sai's drawing. At least, that's what she wanted him to think she was doing. In truth, she was admiring the boy himself. Sakura could swear she was almost drooling. In front of her seat was seated Temari and Kankurou. Sakura couldn't see their faces, but they looked as if they were gaping at the empty chalk board blankly. And in the seat in front of theirs was Chouji, eating chips from a poorly hidden bag inside of his rucksack. He looked around cheerfully.

Sakura snorted at the image of her classmates. Honestly, they were a bunch of idiots.

* * *

After school, Sakura didn't go home, but went to the supermarket. It was Wednesday, and on Wednesdays, she had to work there to gain some money. On Thursdays, she babysat the Jones' kids, on Fridays she just went grocery shopping and jogging, on Saturdays she also worked in the supermarket, on Sundays she made her homework, on Mondays she babysat the Smith's daughter, and on Tuesdays she made as much homework as she could, so she could gain money the rest of the week. She was a good student, so even when she didn't do as much for school, her grades were better than those of an average student. Sakura was swinging her bag back and forth cheerfully, humming her favourite tune. She was practically skipping down the road.

The whole day, everybody had treated her normal! Of course, she still didn't have any friends, but everybody had treated her just like any other student. She smiled, barely believing it herself.

The distance between her school and the supermarket was bridged in only minutes. The automatic doors opened for the girl, inviting her in.

''Hello mr Stephens! How was your day?'' Sakura chirped at her boss. He was standing next to the door, holding a clipboard and overlooking the shop as if he overruled it. She got nothing but a disapproving look from the strict man before he wrote something down on the clipboard, but she didn't care. She just shrugged and walked over to an empty counter.

The supermarket was very big, so when you entered it, you didn't walk straight in to the part of the shop were the shelves with products were, but you had to pass the many counters first.

As Sakura sat down behind the counter that wore the number 'four', people that were standing in the back of lines in front of other counters immediately approached her, so a line was formed in front of hers.

At the end of the evening, she took the bus home. She had learned from the last time.

When she came home, she did her daily routine of cooking dinner, asking her mother whether she would like to eat dinner with her, receiving a ''no, go away,'' for a reply from the woman, eating it by herself, doing the dishes, making her homework, reading a book, closing up the doors, windows and curtains and going to bed. After today, nothing could worsen her mood. She felt great.

If anyone would have entered her room, they would have smiled at the girl, for she had fallen asleep with a broad smile plastered on her face.

* * *

''She believed you?'' Sasuke snorted at his friend.

''I'm not sure, but I know that if I hang out with her long enough, she'll trust me.'' Naruto laughed.

''Well, then do so! The moment she really trusts you, that's the moment she'll be the most frail.'' Ino said.

The three of them were skyping. Ino was talking through her cellphone, holding it in place between her cheek and her shoulder by bringing up her shoulder as high as she could without crushing her cellphone on the spot. She was painting her toe-nails a flirtatious raspberry pink. Sasuke was sitting behind his desk, resting his head on his hand. He was concentrating on his math homework. Naruto was sitting on his roof, with his laptop resting on his lap.

His parents had died when he was just a baby, so he was now living by himself. He lived in a small, dusty, stuffed apartment. He never liked his appartment, so he vowed to spend as few time there as possible. Luckily, it was on the upper level, so when he stood on his balcony, he only had to climb up the rain pipe before he was on top of the roof; his favourite spot by far. He could see the whole town. The breathtaking sunsets and sunrises, the large amount of stars that were in the sky at night, the tiny dots that were people, way down on the streets.

''So what do you want me to do?'' He asked his friends through the phone.

''Befriend her, of course!'' Came Ino's reply, ''And, when she trusts you with her whole heart, tell her the truth. I dunno, laugh at her or something. That'll teach her.''

''Ok.''

''Sakura is so naive... It probably won't take long before she confides in you.'' Ino said, a small smile curling the corners of her lips. Sasuke tried his best to look bored as always, but Naruto could see the excited glint in his eyes, even on the small screen.

''Gotta go, you guys. I'll see you on school tomorrow.'' Naruto said, closing up the laptop before giving his friends the chance to reply.

He sighed and closed his eyes, before casting a glance at the star-lit sky.

He lay down, intending on closing his eyes for only a second.

Before he knew it, he was lured into a deep slumber.

* * *

You don't know why, but for some reason

you feel like clicking

the button

below

**l**

**l**

**v**


	4. Hate

Naruto had a creative mind; He thought about many strange, happy and sometimes just plain stupid things. He knew what words, colours and notes to use to make them live on forever.

...Well, forever was a bit exagerated of course. Forever doesn't exist. 'Forever' is only said by people that don't think of the true meaning of the word. Forever is a terribly long time. It means, from now until the rest of eternity. In fact, when somebody says the word 'forever', they are lying already. Forever goes beyond death, and we, as human beings, don't go beyond death. Nobody goes beyond death. No living creature, anyways.  
See, he was doing it again; getting lost in his own, endless line of useless thoughts.

There were people that didn't think he thought this much. In truth, the opposite was going on. He thought so much that his thoughts made him dizzy. If he was a writer, he would write them down. If he was an artist, he would draw them out. Heck, if he was a singer, he would make them into a beautiful, heartwrencing symphony! (...You know, one of these symphonies you hear when you are bored and turn on the radio. You have no idea what the song is called; all you know, is that it was amazing, and that you want to hear it again.)

But yeah, he couldn't do any of these things, so he just stuck to thinking.

In truth, the things he thought were very deep. He could probably become famous when he knew how to make them into words. But when he did, they sounded weird. Who knows, maybe somebody could make it into a story. One of these stories that fathers tell their sons. Stories with morals and depth. Stories that seem to pierce your soul.

Maybe he should tell a writer about his thoughts. That person could make it sound right _outside_ of his head as well. But then again, things like that were probably expensive.

Perhaps it was better if Naruto kept his thoughts to himself. That way he was the only one to enjoy them.

Although... Was he selfish? Was he selfish for wanting to keep these wonderful, amazing thoughts to himself? To save them for one of these rare moments that he was so bored that he had nothing to do but enjoy his own thoughts?

''_BAM!_''

Naruto's head snapped up from his wooden table when a loud banging noise filled his ears. He looked straight into the face of their English teacher; Ms Anko. She had slammed his table with a book, and was now looking at him with her eyes narrowed and a satanic smirk plastered on her face.

''Well well, Naruto. Is my class so boring that you decide you'd rather sleep?''

''I wasn't asleep, technically,'' Naruto muttered, resting his head on his handpalm. Soft chuckling could be heard from his classmates. Anko flicked her eyes over to the students and the sounds faded instantly.

_'Tsk, pussies,'_ Naruto thought, smirking to himself.

Anko turned her back to the class and walked up to the chalk board, ''Uzumaki, one hour of detention after school.''

Naruto's jaw dropped, ''_What? _I didn't do a thing!'' He dismissed the fact that this was probably the problem.

The trick is, when a teacher punishes you in class, to always pretend you didn't do anything wrong. Even when you did. Some teachers tend to give you a second chance when you tell them this.

''Uzumaki, two hours of detention after school.''

Too bad Anko wasn't one of these teachers. Naruto furrowed his brows and pouted at the raven haired teacher's back.

When the bell rung, Naruto's classmates immediately started chattering. They gathered their stuff and walked out of the classroom. When Ino and Sasuke passed Naruto's seat, they both smiled at him encouragingly, knowing the plan was that their friend would walk home with Sakura this afternoon. English was their last period on friday, so weekend had just begun. Naruto grinned a toothy smile at his friends before turning around and scanning the classroom for the pink hair, pale skin and scrawny body that belonged to Sakura Haruno, only to find her seat was empty.

Had she walked past him without him noticing?

He looked around. The classroom was deserted. He sighed, and exited the classroom, approaching his locker. As he put on his orange and black hoodie and plugged the tiny earplugs from his iPod into his ears, he couldn't help but steal a glance at the small groups of students that were still inside the building. The biggest part of the teenagers had already gone outside. Knowing them, they were all heading for the centre of town to get ice cream, clothes and other things that they didn't really need, but just loved to buy. Each and every one of the students that went to Konoha High lived for these Friday afternoons. In the whole week, no afternoon gave the teenagers such a free feeling like the Friday afternoon did; the school week had just passed, and Monday was still two days away.

His friends were probably having fun now, as well. Oh how Naruto would have loved to join them, but instead he had to search for Billboard-brow Haruno.

Well, now at least she would get what she deserved.

With that thought, Naruto slammed his locker shut and walked towards the red doors that separated the hallway from the green, colourful schoolyard. Opening up the doors with ease, Naruto seized his cellphone from the front pocket of his jeans. The soft beep coming from the device let him know that somebody had just sent him a new text-message.

_''Hi, havin fun w/ BBB? cya l8er''_ He read. The text-message came from Ino. 'BBB' meant Billboard-Brow, obviously.

_''She's nowhere to be found.'' _Naruto texted back, before putting his cellphone back in his pocket and continuing on his way to his scooter.

Meanwhile on the other side of the school, there was a skinny, pink haired girl crouching beside the flower beds. She was bathing in the bright afternoon sunlight, only enshadowed by birds that flew over the school yard, chirping happily and looking down on the beautiful garden underneath them. The girl smiled up at hem, letting her emerald coloured eyes sparkle in the sunlight. Sakura did that on many afternoons; when all other students were gone, she stayed a little longer, enjoying the lush school garten and the gorgeous flowers that adorned it. She loved being in gardens, as you probably already knew.

_'Well, time to go home,'_ she thought, shooting the flowers one last glance before picking up her bag and walking through the school doors. She marched through the deserted hallways, her stride brisk and her expression stern. Sakura normally didn't walk this quickly, but the deserted hallways gave her the creeps.

She just kept walking towards the main school doors, her gaze fixed on the light peeping in through the small balustered windows, leaving light yellow stripes on the linoleum floor.

All of a sudden, Sakura felt trapped. The round glass windows in the doors of the many classrooms seemed as if they were eyes, eager to watch the girl's every movement, and the cool air that came from the fans that were attached to the ceiling sounded like shallow breathing. Sakura looked around swiftly, shooting every dark corner in the hallways a suspicious glance. She closed her eyes, her breathing quickening.

She was beginning to hyperventilate.

Sakura knew there was nothing here to be afraid of, she was sure of it. But eversince her little 'adventure' in the alleyways in town, just being alone creeped her out.

She started walking even faster, turning her head to look at every suspicious thing in the hallway so quickly that she lost her footing and stumbled forward. Luckily, this fall caused the girl to hit the door and tumble outside, into the sun and the muggy afternoon air. Before she knew it, she landed face-first on the stone steps in front of the main doors.

Wondering what the fuss was about, Naruto removed his earplugs from his ears and turned his head into the direction of the school. He immediately arched an eyebrow at the image of Sakura lying on the steps, panting as if chased by the devil. He placed his scooter against the iron fence and took off towards the main doors.

Sakura looked up when she heared footsteps approaching, so blinded by the intense sunlight that she didn't recognise who the person that was running towards her at first.

...That was, of course, until she heard his all too familiarvoice, ''Sakura? What are you doing down there?''

''Sunbathing,'' She replied sarcastically, sitting up and rubbing her sore nose.

Naruto arched an eyebrow at the girl. What gave her the right to make a sarcastic comment at him? He didn't give in to his astonishment, though, ''What made you trip?''

''Oh, er... I was just- er... Clumsy, is all,'' Sakura muttered, her voice muffled by her hand.

Naruto rolled his eyes at the pinkette as she stood up. For a moment, he thought he noticed her trembling slightly, but dismissed it.

''Shouldn't you be in detention?'' Sakura asked him.

''Yeah,'' Naruto snickered, ''So?''

Sakura opened her mouth, closed it and then opened it again, like a fish gulping for air, _'He didn't go to detention, even though ms Anko told him to? He must be insane!'_

''So... Wanna get something to drink?'' He asked her bluntly.

Sakura turned her head in his direction, her eyes widened and her mouth hanging agape, _''What?''_

''Something. To. Drink.'' Naruto repeated slowly.

Sakura looked down at her feet so her face was hidden by bubblegum pink strands of hair, protecting her from the blond's view. She still wasn't sure wether she could trust him. No matter how friendly he acted towards her lately; he had bullied her. He had bullied her so terribly that she had even thought of suicide once or twice. People couldn't change like this, could they? Not in such a short time, anyway.

She looked up when she heard shuffling from behind her, but then noticed it was coming from Naruto. He was now leaning against the side of the school building with closed eyes, enjoying the warmth from the sunlight and concentrating on each and every sound around him; the chirping of the birds, the distant sounds of the cars, the clattering from the nearby fountain, the wind playing with the grass and the trees and even the slight shrieking coming from the iron fence as the breeze brushed past it, pushing it back and forth in the process.

It was a way of meditation his uncle, Jiraiya, had taught him to calm down when he wanted to. Jiraiya wasn't Naruto's actual uncle, but he was the only adult that really looked after him. He paid the rent for his appartment and had been his father's best friend.

_'He must really like the sun, huh?'_ Sakura thought, staring at the boy in wonder.

''Stop staring at me,'' he ordered without opening his eyes.

Sakura turned her head back so she was now facing the fence that separated the school grounds from the main road again, ''I wasn't.''

From behind her back, Naruto opened one eye and curled the right corner of his mouth up in a smirk, _'Yes you were.' _

He then pushed himself off the wall and walked up to Sakura, ''So, are you coming or not?''

When after a few minutes Sakura still hadn't answered him, he poked her in the shoulder, ''Are you?''

There was no escaping this guy, was there?

''Fine,'' Sakura muttered.

* * *

About half an hour later they were both sitting on top of the roof above Naruto's appartment, their legs dangling from the roof gutter and a can of coke in their hands. The building wasn't located that far away from Konoha High, so the ride they took had been a short -but very awkward- one. The reason it had been uncomfortable was that, since Sakura didn't have a bike, she hadn't had any choice but riding with Naruto on his scooter with her arms secured tightly around his stomach.

Naruto leaned back with closed eyes, softly landing on his back. Meanwhile, a safe distance away from him, Sakura was reading a book, now and then taking a sip from her coke. Naruto opened his eyes when he heard the soft ruffling of paper.

He propped himself up on one elbow, gazing at Sakura. She didn't look up. She was completely absorbed by- whatever it was. Not able to suppress his nosy nature, he sat up and crawled over to the place where the girl was sitting.

He was surprised when she still didn't look up. Her face was so close to the page she was reading that her nose was pressed against the paper.  
Naruto smirked. He could not let this chance go by.

He brought his mouth close to her right ear and then yelled, ''_Hey! _What are you reading?!''

Sakura shrieked and heaved her arms up, causing the book to fly up in the air. She shot Naruto a shocked look before frantically reaching out for the book; trying to grab it before it fell down from the roof, into the depth that was the busy street. Just in time her fingers closed around the object and pulled it back.

Hugging the book as tightly as she could, she narrowed her eyes at Naruto, who was laughing maniacally, ''Don't ever do that again.''

''What- what are you- talking about? T-that was classic!'' He gasped between laughs, still clenching his stomach.

Sakura crossed her arms with a pout. She understood why he thought it was so funny; this was one of those things that are hilarious, until it happens to you.

When after a few minutes Naruto's laughter had finally faded, he wiped away the happy tears that had been streaming over his cheeks and managed to ask her, ''So, what book are you reading?''

She loosened her grip on the book so she could look at the cover. She gently traced the two people on the cover with her finger, ''Pride and Prejudice,'' She whispered.

''Pride and Prejudice?'' Naruto repeated, seemingly uninterested.

''Yes, it is my favourite.''

''I dunno. I mean, the story is so...''

''Deep?''

''No... More like, dramatic.''

''That might be because it's meant to be dramatic. It's called 'drama' for a reason, you know.'' She said, pointing at the small label on the first page of the book.

Naruto pursed his lips. He hated people treating him as if he was stupid. He shot the pinkette a glare from the corners of his eyes. Her arrogance was another reason why he despised Sakura so.

''I love this book. It has a great moral, an amazing script... It is like a piece of art,'' Sakura sighed.

''You like art?'' Naruto questioned, looking back at the girl with sudden interest.

''...Well, I like looking at art. I just don't know much about it,'' She admitted.

''You should take a look at this!'' Naruto exclaimed, searching through his bag until he found what he was looking for. It was a small, cheap looking book with a plastic cover. Sakura arched an eyebrow at him. Was he kidding her?

He held it out to Sakura, and the pinkette hesitatingly accepted it. She stroked the cover like she had with _'Pride and Prejudice'_. This book didn't feel old or mysterious like her favourite book, though. It felt new and cheap.

_''Klimt,'' _She read.

''What is it?'' She asked Naruto, flipping through the pages.

''It's a collection of Gustav Klimt's artworks.''

''Who?''

Naruto gasped, ''Don't tell me you've never heard of Gustav Klimt.''

''Who is he, then?''

''_Only_ the most gifted artist in the existance of humanity!''

As she looked at the drawings, sketches and paintings, she had to admit his work was one of the most impressing collections she had ever seen.

Not all of her attention was on the book, though. She was mainly thinking about how strange it was that she hadn't known anything about Naruto's interest in art. She had known him practically her whole life!

Well, of course she hadn't been very close with him... But still!  
Although, now that she thought about it; he_ was _a straight-A student when it came to drawing class!

''So, what do you think?'' Naruto asked her, unknowingly breaking her chain of thoughts.

''Amazing,'' Sakura whispered, giving him back the book.

He shook is head at her though, ''Keep it. I already have three of them,'' He said, taking a sip from his can and wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

''Really? Er... Thanks,'' she muttered.

''Hey,'' Naruto said, leaning over the edge of the roof, ''Isn't that Danzo?''

''Danzo? _Janitor _Danzo?'' Sakura asked, leaning over the edge as well.

''Ugh... He gave me detention last week, only because I was walking in the same hallway where he was mopping the floor.''

''Is he even allowed to?''

''Dunno. I didn't go.''

Sakura suppressed the urge to shake her head in dissaproval.

''Watch this,'' Naruto said. The wide, devious smirk spreading on his face made the pink haired girl sitting beside him ancious, but the curious part of her made her stay put even when he reached out for a bucket that was standing behind him, against the chimney. He snickered, taking a hold of the iron grip, seizing it from it's spot, and grabbing it tightly with both of his hands. Sakura wondered what was inside of the bucket; judging from the tightened muscles that were visible underneath the tight, black dress shirt the blond was wearing, it was pretty heavy.

Then, without giving Sakura time to do as much as say 'stop', Naruto dropped the content of the bucket over the man walking by. This content, Sakura noticed, was water.

In less than two seconds, the words, ''_What the fuck?!_'' echoed across town so loudly that even the birds that had been sitting in the many trees in a nearby park flew up in the air. Naruto and Sakura were silent for a few seconds, until they slowly turned to look at each other and burst out laughing.

* * *

Later that afternoon, when Sakura was walking home with a big, carton grocery bag in her arms, she overthought the events that had occured that day. She couldn't believe Naruto had made her laugh at such an incolent and inappropriate thing. Laughing at a man that had had a bucket of water landing on top of him was so unlike her!

...It was unlike who she was _now_, anyway.

Not only that, but also the fact that Naruto had wanted her to come to his house. She hadn't trusted it; in fact, she had brought pepperspray in her bag, and had an iron grip on it the whole ride back and travel to the roof of the building. She had expected all of this to be some kind of ultimate bully-plan.

_'Does he really want to be my friend?' _Sakura thought, crossing the road carefully, _'All of this just doesn't make sense! Why would he want to? And why _now_?'_

Sakura bit her lip. Should she let Naruto become her friend? Should she?

A few minutes later Sakura walked up the front porch and the stone steps that led to her house and unlocked the front door.

She wished he would just leave her alone. Just days ago, everything had been fine. Ok, so she had been lonely, and a little bit broken... But at least there hadn't been a need to fear to lose something. Even when the only reason for that was that she did not have anything to begin with.

Sakura entered the kitchen, switched on the lights and put the bag that carried her groceries on the kitchen table. She looked inside of the bag.

_'Looks like today's dinner will consist of tomato-soup and slices of cucumber,'_ She thought, pulling out a big cucumber and a carton box that contained soup for two persons. She put a pan on the stove, tore open the box, added the content to the pan and poured water over the soup. She stirred the soup for a few minutes, added salt and, when it tasted to her liking, moved over to a place on the sink a few feet to the right and minced the cucumber into thin slices.

She looked up from the cucumber when she noticed the soup was giving off a not-so-faint scent and reached up to the cooker hood. She switched it on, but, when there was no air sucked into, or sound coming from the machine, reached out to the window next to it instead. The pinkette opened it slightly, walked over to the kitchen table, scribbled a note to herself, _'Don't forget: cooker hood broken. Call someone to come fix it.' _and continued mincing. Only to be distracted again by a complaining 'mew' coming from somewhere below her. Looking down, she spotted Primrose sitting on the kitchen tiles.

''I wish I had somebody to go to for advice,'' Sakura whispered as she crouched down and petted the white coated kitten. The cat tilted it's head, widening it's big yellow eyes even more.

Sakura giggled. Talking to a cat didn't mean she was crazy; she wouldn't have to worry until the cat started talking back.

She opened a cupboard, took out a bag of cat feeds and filled the cat's iron food bowl with the brown chunks. She got up and finished cooking dinner. The pinkette took one bowl of tomato soup and a small plate of cucumber slices and took it to her mother. As allways, the woman didn't do anything but giving her a small grunt when her daughter put down her meal on the table next to her armchair and whispered, ''Come on, mom. Eat. It will make you feel better.''

When after a few minutes still no sounds came from the woman, Sakura sighed and left the room.

She felt lonely, eating her dinner in the semidarkness that was the kitchen all by herself, but she didn't have a choice; complaining wouldn't help.  
Sakura sighed. She reached out for her bag and pulled it towards her. After about two seconds of searching it, she found what she was looking for. She opened the small book with the name _'Klimt'_ on the cover and started looking at the artworks inside perceptively.

She understood why Naruto liked it so much; there were so many paintings, and each one was totally different from the previous one. It was unbelievable to imagine how every painting was made by the same artist.

* * *

At the same time that Sakura was eating dinner, there was a blond teenage boy leaning against a chimney on the roof above Naruto's appartement, the only source of light coming from the flashlight in his hand. He had been sitting there like that for hours; as soon as he returned from the library he had settled himself against the stone chimney and started reading. He actually enjoyed the book. It wasn't cheesy like he thought it would be, and the dialogues requiered him to stay focused. Well, itwas still pretty much of a girls' book, but none of his friends needed to know he was reading it. He looked up at the star-lit sky.

He adored nights like this one; it had been a hot day, so the air was still warm even on top of such an enormous building. There were no clouds to be seen, so the view of the sky and the skyline of Konoha was entrancing. And of course it was a friday, meaning Naruto wouldn't have to worry about school.

A shiver ran up his spine as a cold breeze brushed against the skin of his neck, face, hands and his bare feet. Naruto and put on his hoodie again. It was getting really chilly outside now.

Naruto's eyes again trailed back to the book in his hands. Naruto ran a hand through his blond spikes. He didn't really understand why exactly he had decided to borrow _'Pride and Prejudice' _in the first place. The story hadn't interested him in the least, and the words Forehead had used to decribe it didn't make him curious for the content of the book at all.

It wasn't like Naruto wanted to know what made her this interested in a book, he hated her after all.

Yes. He hated her. He hated the freakish, hideous, idiotic and arrogant pink haired girl with all his heart. He had left each and every feeling of hope, friendship and...and_ love _for Sakura Haruno behind a long time ago.

All that had remained was hate.

* * *

_I don't really like this chapter... But yeah, my proof-reading friend DID like it, so yeah!_  
_Please review. ;D_

_~Lion3queen_


	5. Button

_I'm so sorry this chapter took me so long... But the end of the schoolyear is approaching, and I really need to improve my grades. D_  
_...Also, I've been busy writing a birthday fic for my friend. I'll upload the first part soon._

_I want to thank all of you who have reviewed me and sent me suggestions for the following chapters. I read and enjoy all of them! Also, I try to fit in as much as I can._  
_Again, thank you very much for reviewing, and also just for reading my fan fiction. When I read your amazingly nice reviews, I almost cried. XD_

_Anyway, enjoy the following chapter!_

_~Lion3queen_

* * *

Sakura woke up to the increasing volume and rapidity of raindrops tapping on the windows of her bedroom. Her eyelids fluttered open, but she noticed that there wasn't much difference in the intensity of the light. It was still dark.

She turned on her stomach with a grunt. According to her alarm clock, it was 11 AM already, even though it did not look like it right now. She pulled the covers over her head again, moaning in the process.

_'And that damn' weatherman said it was going to be sunny today. Bastard.'_

Reluctantly, Sakura rolled out of bed, left her room and walked over to the bathroom for a short shower. As she undressed, entered the shower cabin and turned on the warm-water button, she found there was no warm liquid pouring out of the shower rose. No, the liquid that poured out was icy cold.

Sakura squealed and jumped back, for a moment forgetting that there was nothing there but a shower curtain.

She instinctively grabbed a hold of the wet piece of fabric, accidentally ripping it off of the iron bar it had been hanging from just seconds ago, and tumbled backwards. With a loud yelp the pink haired girl landed on the stone tiles, tangled in the shower curtain, butt naked and freezing.

Trembling, she untangled the shower curtain from her body. She got up and turned the shower off, grabbed a towel from the iron towel rack and wrapped it around herself.

''Just my luck,'' Sakura muttered through clenched teeth.

She averted her gaze to the shower again, _'the water-boiler is probably broke,'_ she figured, shivering.

Sakura left the bathroom and walked into her bedroom. She dressed herself in a pair of white hot pants, a somewhat long pink tank top and a red

short sleeved vest that stopped just above her waist. It was too small for her, but her parents had bought it as a present for her ninth birthday, so she had many good memories of it. Memories in which things weren't this messed up.

She slipped on her favourite All-stars and walked downstairs. She didn't feel any need to open up the curtains in the living room, since the darkness outside didn't differ from the darkness inside very much.

When she walked into the kitchen and looked at the clock, she noticed it was half past eleven already.

_'Holy crap_,_'_ she thought, stuffing a slice of bread in her mouth, _'I have to be at work at twelve o'clock!'_

The pinkette grabbed an apple and walked out of the kitchen. When she searched the coat-rack for her jacket, she noticed it was gone. Mentally, she smacked herself, _'I must have forgotten it at Naruto's place.'_

But she had to go to work, and so she opened the door and walked outside. She was immediately carried off of her feet by a sudden strong breeze and an avalanche of cold raindrops. Sakura shivered for the umpteenth time this morning and hugged her almost bare arms around herself. Luckily her vest did have a hood.

She looked up at the grey clouds and flinched as a crooked line of lightning filled the sky, followed by seconds of roaring thunder.

Without even thinking twice she started sprinting, and she didn't stop until she was inside of the supermarket.

The pinkette wrung her hair out with her hands, earning a disapproving, ''M-mmh?'' from her boss. He was swiftly making his way over to the girl, towering over her, ''Haruno, you are not paid to besmirch this floor with rain-water,'' He barked.

''I'm sorry, mr. Stephens,'' Sakura said. After flicking her hair over her shoulder one more time, 'accidentally' wetting the middle aged man in the process, she walked over to a cash desk and sat down.

After a few hours of just sitting and waiting for customers to come, suddenly a little girl approached the cash desk with a stuffed shopping basket. She lifted it up and put it on the desk, pretending she could carry it without any difficulty. The concentrated look on her small face revealed the opposite was going on, though.

''Hello, Hanabi,'' Sakura said, smiling.

The girl looked up with her big, lavender coloured eyes and brushed a strand of raven hair out of her face, ''Hi, Sakura!''

Hanabi was Hinata's little sister and looked just like her with her pale skin and hair that was so black that it almost looked midnight blue. Sakura used to babysit her, and even now they ran in to each other often since one of Hanabi's chores was grocery shopping.

''-Sakura, are you alright?'' the little girl asked Sakura as the pinkette moved Hanabi's groceries through the laser.

Sakura looked up, ''Of course, why are you asking?''

''You're shivering all over. You look like you caught a cold,'' Hanabi said, putting her groceries in the shopping bag she brought and handing Sakura the money that was needed.

''Don't be silly,'' Sakura said, taking the money with a smile on her face, ''I'm fine.'' That sentence lost some of it's credibility, though, when Sakura sneezed loudly.

Hanabi raised an eyebrow at her, ''You sure?''

''Yes!'' Sakura said, giving the young girl a small wave.

''-Okay then,'' Hanabi muttered before waving at Sakura, turning away from her and leaving the shop.

Sakura looked around and scanned the supermarket for anybody that was looking at her. She slowly touched her forehead with her hand, _'I do feel kind of warm, though...' _

But Sakura could not be sick. If she was sick, she wouldn't be able to gain money. Her mother depended on her, whether she appreciated her daughter's hard work or not.

About half an hour later, Sakura noticed her head was hurting a little.

She looked around. At the moment, there was not a single customer in the entire shop. Of course there wasn't. Who would go out in this stormy weather?

...Well, Hanabi, of course, but her and Hinata's parents were very strict. That was the reason she ran her errands each and every Saturday, whether it was sunny, raining or there was a four feet thick layer of snow.

With a soft moan, Sakura rested her head on the cool, iron cash desk. That felt better.

She didn't know how long she had been laying there when somebody poked her in the shoulder, ''-Sakura, are you alive?''

Sakura lifted her head up, and looked straight into the face of one of her colleagues, ''Yes, I'm fine. What is it?'' She blinked when she noticed her vision was a bit blurry.

''It's five o'clock. We can go home.''

''Oh, right,'' Sakura muttered, rubbing her temples in a fruitless attempt to stop the pain her headache was giving her, ''Thanks for telling me. Have a nice weekend.''

''Yeah,'' The girl said before turning away from Sakura and walking out through the sliding doors. Through the glass, Sakura saw her flinching at the heavy rainfall, opening up her umbrella and walking to the right, disappearing out of sight.

The pinkette sighed, rubbed her eyes and clumsily got up. When she passed a window on her way to the door and caught a glimpse of her reflection, she sighed. Her hair was standing on it's ends and she looked as if she had just survived a tornado. She was almost happy her vision wasn't at it's best. The teenage girl muffled a cough behind her hand.

Sighing, she walked through the doors and into the horrible weather. She pulled the hood from her vest further over her head, but it didn't help. The rainwater soaked the hood so badly that her hair got wet anyway.

It looked like the rainfall was even worse from how it had been that morning.

She thought of sprinting like she had earlier that day, but when she tried, she had only been sprinting about two feet when she lost her footing and crashed into a garbage can. Groggily, she crawled away from the garbage can and got onto her feet.

Sprinting hadn't been such a good idea. She clenched her hood as a sudden breeze tugged at her hair and tried pulling the fabric from her head.  
_'Okay, let's walk. Let's just walk.'_ The soaked girl thought as she wobbly made her way through the street.

But her head ached so much. And she was so cold. And her vision was so blurred. And her feet hurt. And she was so wet.

''-Sakura?" A voice called out to her all of a sudden, carried by the wind.

''I-is that you, God?'' Sakura muttered, trying to make out the more than just the silhouette of the person standing quite a distance away from her, on the wet pavement.

''What are you talking abou- Hey, Sakura. Are you alright?_ Sakura?_'' The person yelled panicky. But Sakura couldn't concentrate. Her head ached and her eyelids drooped. Her skin felt so cold, and the raindrops cut into her flesh like tiny needles.

That was about the moment everything went black.

* * *

_'Warmth.'_

That was the first thing that ran through Sakura's head as she gained consciousness.

''Where am I?'' She muttered. She wasn't outside anymore, that was certain.

Covering her was something soft and warm.

_'Am I dead?'_

No, she couldn't be. She hadn't opened her eyes yet, but she could tell that wherever she was, it was too dark to be heaven. _Or_ hell for that matter.

Her eyelids fluttered open, and she looked straight into the face of her homeroom teacher.

''_Argh!_ Mr. Kakashi?'' She screamed, crawling away from the face with as much speed as she could muster having just woken up. Too bad she had been lying on a bed, resulting in the girl now falling flat on her face on the wooden floor. Still panic-stricken, she blindly crawled further, now and then almost losing her balance because of the objects that were scattered all over the room. She clenched her forehead. Moving so recklessly it was only natural she bumped her head against a drawer.

* * *

_''Argh! Mr. Kakashi?''_

_'Thud!'_

Naruto looked up from the magazine he was reading. Was Sakura awake already?

_'Clang!'_

''Ouch! Damn you, world! Why do you hate me so?''

Naruto sweat dropped. Yep, she was awake.

Reluctantly, he stood up and made his way over to his bed room. As he opened the door and took in the messy room, he immediately spotted Sakura lying on the floor. She was partly sitting up, her back resting against the wooden drawer, her hands were clenching her forehead and the back of her head, and her legs were spread out in front of her.

She was still wearing her clothes she had been wearing when she had fainted in front of him earlier that afternoon. The only thing he had dared to take off was the red jacket she had worn. He had been too scared she would wake up and think he was raping her.

''Er, you alright?'' He asked her awkwardly, not moving away from his spot in the doorway.

She peeked up through the bangs that normally covered her eyes, ''Naruto? Where am I- Is this your bedro- Did you _help_ me?'' She stuttered, seemingly stunned.

Naruto pursed his lips, ''Is me helping somebody _this_ hard to believe?''

"Do you really want to know the answer to that question?'' Sakura asked him.

Naruto smirked, ''Nah, not really.''

Sakura also felt the corners of her mouth tugging up in a smile. The smile was kind of crooked because she felt sick and because the back of her head and her forehead hurt as a result of her reckless attempt to get away from her homeroom teacher.

That reminded her...

She looked up at the bed, looking for any sign of mr. Kakashi. Again, she saw his face lying there, partly hid behind the pillows.

She flinched, pointing towards the bed, ''Na-Naruto? What is our teacher doing in your bedroom?'' Her question sounded more like a statement.

Naruto followed the direction of her index finger. He snickered and walked up to the bed.

Sakura's eyes widened as the blond pulled out a big plushie from behind the pillows, ''Do you mean _this_ teacher?''

...It was a plushie. A fucking _plushie_.

Yeah, she felt pretty stupid at that moment.''Do I _want _to know why you own a plushie that looks like mr. Kakashi?'' Sakura asked Naruto, not tearing her eyes away from the object in his hands.

''I don't remember, actually. I believe my dad once bought it for me.''

Sakura was silent for a while, _'They sell these things?'_

''What were you doing outside, anyway? You weren't even wearing a raincoat,'' Naruto said, placing the plushie back on the bed.

''I forgot my jacket at your place, didn't I?''

''Yes, and I was coming to bring it to you at the supermarket. I didn't expect you to go outside without a coat.''

''I was... In a hurry this morning.''

''Why didn't you just wear somebody else's jacket? Your mom's or your dad's?''

''They... Er... Were wearing the other coats themselves,'' Sakura lied. Naruto had been nice to her lately, very nice. But... she couldn't help but not trusting him entirely, yet. She would tell him the truth later.

She slowly got up, flinching when a flash of pain seemed to cut through her flesh.

''Hey, be careful!'' Naruto shouted, supporting her back, ''You have a fever, you idiot! Don't just stand up like that.''

He helped her as she stumbled towards the bed and lied down once again. He covered her with the sheet that had slipped off of her when she had frantically crawled out of bed and sat down on the side of the bed, ''Just stay here for the night, ok?''

''Hey, Naruto,'' She whispered.

He turned his head to look at her, ''What is it?''

''What time is it?''

''It's seven o'clock,'' He said. He suddenly remembered he hadn't let her know anything about her parents. She had to be worried about them not knowing where she was, ''I looked up your telephone number in the phone book, but nobody answered the phone at your house.''

''That's ok. They probably aren't very worried,'' her eyelids drooped, ''...Hey, Naruto.''

''What?''

''Thanks for everything...''

The blond furrowed his brows and turned his head away from her, ''It's ok.'' he muttered, ignoring the heat rushing to his cheeks.

He looked down at the girl's emotionless, sleeping face.

Why had he helped her in the first place? He had wanted to bring her that jacket to get her to trust him, but why had he picked her up when she fainted? What had brought him to carry her all the way to his house? He could have warned somebody in the supermarket and left her there. He could have done all kinds of things that had been easier and more logical, so why? Why had he-

His thoughts were interrupted by the ringtone of his cell phone. He stood up and hurried out of the room, scared it might wake his 'guest' up.

''Naruto talking,'' he said, annoyed with the person that had interrupted his thoughts like that.

_''Hello Narutooo,'' _a high-pitched voice sang into it's owner's cell phone. In the background chattering, yelling and laughing could be heard.

"Hey, Ino. What's up?''

_''Well, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Kiba, Hinata, Shino and me are at my place. Kiba braught some beer and it's really fun! You coming?''_

''Sure! I'm comi-'' He paused. Sakura was in his apartment, and she had a fever. He couldn't leave her here by herself.

_''Helloooo? You still there?'' _Ino called out impatiently.

''Yeah. Sorry, Ino. Sakura's here.''

_''Forehead?''_ Ino mused, _''Seriously? At your place? Aren't you taking this revenge thing a _**_little_**_ too seriously? I mean, you wouldn't want your social life to suffer from it, right?''_

''Yeah, I know. I just want to make sure she really trusts me, you know?''

_''Well, alright. If that's what you want,''_ She muttered. He could practically _hear_ his other friends casting her confused glances.

''Bye,'' He said.

He trudged over to the couch and plopped down. The blond reached out one tanned hand and used it to turn on the television. Oprah Winfrey was on.

He stared at the screen, but didn't actually pay attention to the programme.

The first reason was that he really didn't give a shit about the crying housewives that each had some dramatic story involving themselves and their husbands. The second reason was that he was tired as hell.

Naruto's stomach growled. It wasn't until that moment that he noticed he was starving. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. He got up from the couch, not bothering to turn of the television, and strolled over to the kitchen. As he opened the cupboards, he noticed the entire cabinet was filled with nothing but instant ramen. He snickered at his own idiocy and grabbed a carton of ramen. He was about to close the cupboard when he thought of something. He grabbed a second one and then stood up to put them in the microwave.

About five minutes later, he opened the door that led to his bedroom and walked up to the sleeping girl. He chuckled. She was sleeping in the exact same position he always did; the blanket nowhere to be found, her body lying on it's side and the Kakashi plushie clasped between her arms and legs.

''Hey,'' He said, ''Sakura!''

The pink haired girl grunted, released the plushie from the suffocating grasp she had had on it and rolled over, now facing him, ''Whaddizit?'' She slurred.

''Eat,'' He ordered, holding one of the bowls of ramen he had prepared out to her.

Sakura sat up, rubbing her eyes,''Wha-er... Okay, thanks,'' She stuttered, noticing the bowl lingering inches away from her face. She stiffly grabbed it and put it down on her lap. The teen looked up just in time to see Naruto walk through the bedroom door and close it behind him.

She blew a strand of pink hair out of her face, flabbergasted. Why would he first prepare dinner for her that she didn't even ask for, and then walk away as if he was pissed off for having to do it?

She looked down at the bowl, letting the vapour coming from it warm her face up. She'd probably never understand guys... _Especially_ not the blond whose house she was crashing at that moment.

Sakura ate the rest of her ramen slowly, and then slipped out of Naruto's bed for a toilet break. She tip-toed across the room, careful not to break anything. As quietly as she could, she opened the bedroom door and poked her head around the corner. She looked into a small hallway that led to a messy living room. There was a door in the right wall of the living room that Sakura assumed was a kitchen, and behind it there was another one that had a small sign hanging from it. It read the word, 'bathroom'. From the living room, some sounds could be heard that were presumably coming from the television.

After she was sure Naruto wasn't there, she hopped over to the bathroom. Half way across the living room, though, she was startled by an orange speck she noticed from the corner of her eyes.

Already heaving her arms up, ready to yelp that she was only going to the bathroom, she turned to the speck.  
She immediately lowered her arms. Naruto had sunk further in the sofa, his chin resting on the arm of the couch. His mouth was hanging open slightly, and he was snoring. He was clutching the empty bowl he had been eating ramen from in his hands. Sakura couldn't supress a chuckle.

After she went to the bathroom, she again passed Naruto. Once again her face turned towards him. She stopped in her tracks.

He had taken care of her so well earlier that evening; she couldn't leave him lying there like that. She scanned the rest of the room for any sign of anything she could use as a blanket. The pinkette bit her lip. She didn't see anything. And so she tip-toed over to the bedroom and took the blanket from his bed. She walked back to the living room and took a few steps in Naruto's direction. She clumsily wiggled the bowl he was holding out of his grip and covered him with the blanket. She then picked up the black remote that was lying on the low, glass table and used it to turn off the television.

When Sakura was lying in the bed again, she thought over the occurrences of that day. She was worried about her mom; what if she had had no dinner? What if the blanket had slipped off again? She was worried about all of the chores that were awaiting her at home; hovering the stairs and hallways, working in the garden, cleaning the living room, calling somebody to repair the water-boiler and the cooker hood, paying the bills.

But mostly, her mind was on Naruto.

Sakura rolled on her side. After four years of bullying, why would he be so nice all of a sudden? All of this just didn't make sense!

_'-Except,'_ She thought, _'What if he feels sorry for bullying me? What if he wants to make it up to me?' _

It could be possible. Maybe he hadn't noticed how much pain it had caused the girl until a week before. After all; pain lives inside, not outside.

Yes, that was probably it.

Sakura sneezed, _'Being ill sucks.'_

* * *

When Sakura woke up the next morning, she felt disorientated. The room she had been sleeping in wasn't hers. She looked around groggily, trying to get a clear view of her surroundings.

Her eyes widened. Everything came back to her.

Had Naruto woken up already?

Ignoring the dizziness that took over, she stumbled out of the bed and towards the door. Like she had done last evening, she slowly opened the door and scanned the hallway and the part of the living room that was visible for the blond teen. She could see him walking into the kitchen, clad in new clothing. His hair was wet and stuck to his forehead. He looked as if he had just showered. He hadn't noticed her yet.

Sakura walked back into the room and towards the mirror that hung above a cabinet. She looked at her reflection and, not entirely sure why, tried fixing her hair.

When she found she looked a bit better, she swung open the bedroom door and walked into the living room.

She walked over to the kitchen and tapped her knuckle against the wooden doorpost, ''Good morning, Naruto.''

Naruto flinched and almost dropped whatever he was holding as he cast a glance over his shoulder.

He turned back to the kitchen sink, ''Yeah, hi.''

Neither of them said anything for a while. Sakura kept standing in the doorway, taking in the kitchen.

''Sakura,'' Naruto said all of a sudden.

Sakura looked back to Naruto, ''-Er, yes?''

The blond put what he had been holding on the kitchen sink and turned around. Sakura noticed he had been making a sandwich. A barrel of peanut-butter stood on the stone sink, the plastic lid next to it as well as a knife.

''You feeling better?''

''Er, yes I do. Thanks,'' Sakura said, ''Not only for asking, but also for... You know, taking me when I-...''

''That's ok,'' He said, turning back to the sandwich, ''D'you want some breakfast or something?''

''Nah,'' Sakura said, ''I think I should go home. Thanks for your hospitality,'' She turned away from the blond.

''Hostility?'' Naruto muttered, ''Stop talking like an old man.''

Sakura pursed her lips, ''I like talking like an old man, I guess.'' _'Better than talking like some kind of barbaric teenage R&B-star,'_ She thought. She didn't say that out loud, of course.

''Could you tell me where my jacket is?'' She asked after another short pause.

''I put it on the heater underneath the window last night, so it could dry."

Sakura looked back into the living room - which was hard, since the curtains were still closed there - and, indeed, noticed her red jacket draped over the heater. She walked over to the windows and pulled the curtains open.

Her jaw dropped. It must have been very early, because the sun had only just climbed up until just above the skyscrapers in the distance. The rain had stopped. The sun was coloured a light yellow. The clouds were underlined with gold, the sky behind it was fading from yellow, to orange, to pink, to an icy blue and those colours were only emphasized by the morning mist that blurred them all together.

She heard footsteps from behind her and knew Naruto was approaching.

''You like it?'' he asked her.

Sakura could only nod, ''It's amazing. I've never seen anything like it.''

''During summer, I often fall asleep on the roof and get to see both the sunrise and the sunset from there. It's what I like the best.''

''It must be amazing. Living in a place this high, I mean.''

''Yes, it is. Kind of lonely, though.''

Sakura kept silent. Telling him she was lonely as well didn't make sense; she had told him her parents loved each other and they loved their daughter as well. Although, in fact, she wasn't sure if they even wanted her as a daughter.

Her father was gone and he wasn't coming back. Her mother was gone, too.

Well, of course, her mother was still here. But she wasn't who she used to be.

Sakura thought about all of this, trying to make him think she was still amazed by the sunrise.

She bended over and grabbed her vest. Suddenly she remembered he still had her jacket.

''Your other jacket is hanging from the hallstand,'' He said, not taking his eyes away from the spectacle of coloured splashes in the distance. It was like he could read her mind.

Sakura nodded and turned back to the living room. She was surprised. It looked so different in the daylight.

Of course, it was still a bit grey and empty, aside from the coloured paintings and the surprisingly many books that were piled up high on each and every table and cabinet, but the light added a little more colour.

Sakura put on her vest, taking in the paintings. Her attention was attracted by a wooden painter's easel in the middle of the room. She peeked at Naruto from the corner of her eyes. He was still captivated by the beauty of the sunrise.

Careful not to attract his attention, she tip-toed over to the painter's easel and looked at the painting on it.

It was a picture of two people, each walking on one side of a young, blond boy. They were all smiling, each holding an ice pop. The person on the left side of the boy was a blond man with sapphire blue eyes, and the person on the right a woman with red hair that cascaded down her back. Sakura gulped. She felt as if she had invaded somebody's privacy. This painting looked too... Too personal. She was sure she wasn't meant to see it.

She took a few steps away from the painter's easel and called out, ''-I, er... Should go now. Thanks for everything.''

Without giving Naruto the chance to reply, she hopped over to the hallway, grabbed her jacket and walked through the door.

Naruto turned away from the window and watched the pink haired girl stumbling out of the room. She didn't even seem to notice she was bumping into things in the process.

What a weirdo.

The door slammed shut.

He sighed. His eyes unwillingly went to the caramel coloured couch and the blanket that was draped over the elbow-rest.

He had noticed it this morning. He had woken up underneath a blanket he was sure had been on his bed the evening before.

_'That selfless idiot,'_ He had thought, smiling. But he hadn't been able to bring himself to thank her, being the proud person he was. He would do so some other time, he figured.

He leaned back against the window. Everything was going well. That girl was coming to trust him more every day.

Soon, everything would be alright. He could tell her the truth, she would be hurt and they would be even.

He took out his cell phone from his pocket.

_'You guys coming to my house later?'_ He texted. He selected Sasuke and Ino as the receivers of the text-message and sent it.

It took only minutes for Ino to reply with a, _'Sure! I'll be at ur place 'round 2 o'clock. U got a movie or sumtin? X'_

Next came Sasuke's message; _'Yes.' _

It'd feel good to have some fun with his _real _friends.

* * *

When Sakura came home, everything was just the way she expected it; Dark and silent.

She removed her shoes and put her jacket away. When she cast the back door a glance, she noticed there were tiny, muddy paw-prints leading from the cat flap to the kitchen. Sakura giggled, until she remembered her cat hadn't gotten any food yesterday evening. She ran to the kitchen and found her cat sitting next to it's food bowl, pushing it from right to left with it's paw. It turned it's head towards it's owner, it's eyes accusing.

''I'm sorry, Primrose!'' Sakura called out, pulling out the bag of cat food from a cabinet and putting a handful in the cat's iron bowl. The white cat mewed once before attacking the food. Sakura turned around and stretched her muscles.

Still stretching, she walked over to the big windows and opened them up, closing her eyes to the fresh wind.

The pinkette then turned away from the windows and prepared some food for her mother.

Loaded with a heavy tray with a sandwich, a bowl with a fruit salad and a glass of orange juice on it, Sakura kicked open the kitchen door and wobbled over to the living room.

''Good morning, mom,'' She said, forcing a smile for the miserable woman sitting in the chair. Sakura couldn't really make out anything in the darkness, so she first put down the tray on something that she assumed was a table and walked over to the windows. She opened the curtains and walked back to the tray. The pinkette closed her pale hands around it and carried it towards her mother, ''Look, mom. I brought you some food.''

She put it on the coffee table before the fauteuil and sat down on the couch beside it.

The red haired woman still hadn't moved an inch. She looked worse. There were dark circles underneath her eyes, her cheeks looked hollow, her body looked even more skinny than the last time Sakura saw her, her shoulder-length crimson hair had lost all of it's glossiness and stuck in strands to her forehead.

Sakura became worried. Was she even breathing?

Yes, she was. If the pinkette concentrated, she could hear her mother's shallow breathing.

''Mom, wake up, come on. You have to eat,'' Sakura said, poking her mother in the knee softly. She became worried, ''Mom? Come on!''

Sakura got to her feet and walked over to her mother. She shook her shoulders, ''Mom? _Mom?''_

The lean woman didn't move an inch.

The pinkette didn't know what to do. Should she bring her to a doctor? But how? She didn't even have a bicycle!

Sakura started trembling. She closed her eyes and tilted her chin up, taking big gulps of air. She had to keep herself from hyperventilating. She seized her cell phone from the pocket of her vest, hoping it still worked after the storm from yesterday. The light pink screen greeting her let her know that this was the case. Not knowing what else to do, she selected the only name in the list and pressed the green button.

* * *

_I bet you're all wondering what's wrong with Sakura's mother, right?_  
_Yep. I am, too._

_...No, honestly. I couldn't sleep yesterday, and then I thought of something being wrong with Sakura's mother. I have an idea, but I'm sure you guys can think of something way better._  
_...Just tell me if you have an idea!_

_Oh, and an important message: (I'll type it in bold letters, just to emphasize it's greatness) _**I'm in need of a BETA-reader. Ubernaut pointed that fact out to me, and I am very thankful. I'm glad somebody told me my English has some flaws. I mean, of course, English isn't my first language, but I didn't have any idea my English was disturbing, ghehe. I can be such a douche if I feel like it.**

**If you agree to be my BETA-reader, please review or pm me. I would appreciate it very much! 3**

_**~Lion3queen**_


	6. Friend

_**Well, look who's updating!**_

**Okay, so first things first:**

**I want to thank Hatakevan for volunteering on being my beta-reader. I'm so thankful! It's too bad you told me you don't qualify, but still.. I'm so thankful that I just needed to, you know... Thank you.**

**I also want to thank softie96 for volunteering, but I wasn't able to reply because he or she wasn't logged in when she reviewed. Ghehe, I'm sorry. XD **

**So yeah, through it all I'm still looking for a BETA-reader.**

**Also, thank all of you that wished me good luck on my grades for- well, wishing me good luck on my grades. XD I wrote this chapter in the time I didn't study, so it means a lot to me that people appreciate my work.**

**And just thanks to everyone else that reads, faves, reviews my story and of course the people that put it on story alert. It's of course more personal if you review, but I'm also very honoured if you just use your free time to read Make Believe.**

_**~Lion3queen**_

* * *

_Tick._

_Tick._

_Tick._

Sakura folded her hands in her lap.

_Tick._

_Tick._

She bit her lip and for a second, her eyes flicked over to the white clock hanging from the wall.

_Tick._

Was the ticking of a clock always this ear-deafening?

_Tick._

_Tick._

She closed her eyes and took a big gulp of air.

_Tick._

_'Calm, Sakura,'_ She thought to herself,_ 'Everything will be just fine.'_

_Tick._

Sakura turned her pale face to look at the water machine in the corner of the room. She stood up from the plastic chair she had been sitting on and walked the stone, white tiles until she was close enough to the machine to grab a plastic cup and fill it with water. She walked back to the chair and sat down again.

_Tick._

_Tick._

From the moment she had entered the waiting room she had done nothing but staring at the wall on the opposite side of the room and listening to the ticking of the clock hanging from it. Two o'clock it said. Sakura looked at the woman sitting behind the glass from the counter. Her eyes were moving from left to right, so Sakura figured she was reading a magazine. Sakura huffed and moved her emerald irises to face the wall again.

_Tick._

Two hours had passed since Sakura called 911. One hour and a half since the ambulance showed up. One hour since they arrived at the hospital and 55 minutes since Sakura walked into the waiting room. The doctors had taken her mother away.

The woman at the counter had told Sakura to wait in the waiting room until somebody came to get her.

_Tick._

_Tick._

Sakura felt like she was going mad. Why didn't anybody tell her what was wrong with her mother?

She hung her head. What if her mom was dying? What if it was her fault?

Of course, lately she hadn't talked to her very much, but... She was still Sakura's mother! She hadn't always been like this. She had many good memories of her mother. Memories she cherished with all her heart.

_''Mommy! Daddy!''_

_A high pitched giggle pierced through the air, followed by fits of more masculine laughter._

_''Sakura! My, aren't you looking beautiful in that new dress I bought you.''_

_''You shouldn't have, Phill. You're spoiling her.'' Again, soft laughter could be heard._

_Three people were standing in the doorway of a white house. One of them was a man and the other person a woman. The man was carrying a petite, pink haired girl in his arms._

_''No, mommy! I love pretty dresses, and I'm not spoiled,'' The small girl huffed, tugging at her mother's sleeve, ''Let's go to the zoo!''_

_''How'd you know we are going to the zoo? It was meant to be a birthday surprise!'' The man exclaimed. ''Lily?'' He asked, narrowing his eyes at his wife._

_''I wouldn't know how she found out about it,'' Lily giggled. A wide grin spread on her freckled face and she tugged at her bangs; a habit Sakura would gain when she got older._

_''Tsk, you idiot,'' Phill said, running a hand through his white hair._

_Lily's smile faded, ''Be careful with Sakura, honey. Don't lift her up too high.''_

_Her husband just chuckled, and lifted his daughter up even higher, causing the girl to squeal in amusement._

_''Uwah! Don't!''_

_''Come on, Sakura. Before your mum explodes,'' Phill laughed, starting to jog down the road._

_''Phil! Be careful, sheesh! We only have one daughter!''_

_''Love you more!'' Phill called over his shoulder._

_All the while, Sakura did nothing but laughing.  
**  
**_Sakura smiled.

See? She had lots of good memories of her parents.

She wasn't entirely sure why she was trying to convince herself of this, but she didn't have time to think about it much longer. For at that moment a brown haired doctor stepped into the waiting room. He checked his clipboard and then said, ''Lily Haruno?''

He looked around the room, which was kind of useless noticing the fact that Sakura was the only person there.

Sakura heaved a slightly trembling hand up, ''-Er, yes? That is my mother.''

The doctor adjusted his glasses so he was able to get a clear view of the teenage girl before speaking up, ''Yes. Follow me, please.''

As Sakura pursued the man through the building, she didn't dare ask him what was wrong with her mom. She was afraid of what would be the answer. Stiffly, she looked around in the busy hallway. There were so many different people there. People in different shapes, colours and sizes.  
She averted her gaze to the back of the man walking before her, though, remembering it was rude to stare at others.

Sakura immediately regretted her momentary loss of focus, for the brunet doctor was walking with immense speed. The pinkette picked up her pace slightly, trying to catch up with him.

All of a sudden, the doctor stopped dead in his tracks. Luckily, Sakura could keep herself from walking into him just before the collision.

''Here she is,'' He said, before turning his back to her and quickly walking away into the opposite direction of the one they had come from. Sakura sighed. Hospital people were always so stressed. It made her nervous.

Slowly, the pinkette turned to face the door closest to where she was standing. She gulped audibly.

After about five minutes of just staring at the door, she decided she had gained enough courage and opened it before she had time to change her mind again.

It wasn't as bad as Sakura had feared. There were no tubes sticking up her mother's nose and arms. There was no machine attached to her, beeping to the beat of her heart. She was just lying there, her ginger hair spread over the pillow and her legs covered by a thin, white blanket. The sunlight found it's way through the blinds, forming yellow stripes on the bedspread and parts of the woman's hands. Dust danced around in the afternoon light like microscopic fireflies.

It was quite a peaceful sight, Sakura thought. She almost smiled. Almost.

''Sakura Haruno. Hello,'' A voice greeted. Sakura flinched slightly, she hadn't noticed anybody else in the room.

There, next to the door, stood a blonde woman with a -Sakura couldn't help but notice- rather impressive looking chest -too bad for her, her own chest hadn't grown much since middle-school- and a face that looked way younger than the rest of her body -without a doubt a result of a long history of face-lifts- in a white doctor's uniform. She was smiling down at Sakura kindly.

The green eyed girl's mouth formed a small 'O', before she stuttered a, ''Oh- But- Principal Tsunade- Oh!''

Sakura knew this woman. She was not only her school's principal and a true beauty, but also downright intimidating.

''Do- A- Are you a nurse as well, principal? Do you know my name?''

''Honestly, Sakura, I would remember the name of the only female straight-A student going to Konoha High. And yes and no. I am not a full-time nurse, but I did study medical science. I'm allowed to take care of the patients when the hospital is short on work force.'' The woman said. She tried to mask her pride by coughing in her fist, but Sakura could see the proud glint in her eyes. ''Anyway, is that your mother?''

The teenage girl nodded, sending her pink bangs flying into her line of vision. She cast her mom a glance from the corner of her eyes. She hadn't moved an inch.

''Your mother hasn't got anything serious, you know. She's only asleep. She is suffering from a nervous breakdown, though. Did anything happen to cause this?'' Sakura gulped. How was a nervous breakdown nothing serious?

She then remembered Tsunade had asked her a question. ''-Er... Not that I know abo- I mean-'' She stuttered.

Should she tell her principal about her father's departure? Would it help her? Would it mean they would take her mother away? Would it mean Sakura would have to go into an orphanage?

The teenage girl's mental struggle must have been visible on her features, because Tsunade smiled down at her again, ''It isn't a problem if you need to think about it for a second, ok?''

The pinkette sighed in relief. Inwardly, that is.

''Now,'' Tsunade said after awhile, walking towards one of the chairs in the room. She picked up a crimson handbag and walked towards the door. All of a sudden, she stopped walking and spun on her heels, ''My shift is over. Are you going home?''

Sakura bit her lip, ''Is it okay if I... Stay a little longer?''

''Well, according to the rules you have to go home as soon as the doctor or nurse leaves,'' She said. Sakura's expression fell. ''But,'' She continued, ''It's not my fault if I _accidentally_ leave the room and didn't see you were still there.'' She winked.

Sakura didn't know what to say, ''Thank you.''

''What for?'' Tsunade asked, winking for the second time.

She started closing the door, but paused. ''By the way, if you need to talk about something, you know where to find me, right? If I'm not at school, I'm here.'' She gave Sakura's head a quick pat and left the room.

* * *

It must have been around nighttime when Sakura heaved her head from the mattress and looked around in the room.

Had she fallen asleep?

Yes, she must have, She thought, looking down at her own fingers that were still closed around her mother's hand. She had been sitting on a wooden chair, but when she fell asleep she must at some point have rested her head on the mattress her mother was lying on. Her emerald eyes scanned the woman's face for any change in her expression from last evening. A twitch of an eye. A soft sigh.

She found none.

The teenage girl pulled out her cellphone from the pocket of her hotpants and stood up when the little device showed '02:23 AM' in glowing characters.

''Goodbye mom, I'll come again after school,'' She whispered, ''I'll bring you something, alright?''

She tiptoed out of the room and closed the door behind her. The hallways were almost deserted now, aside from a few doctors that still power walked from here to there. Sakura leaned back against the door and took a big gulp of air. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

Sakura tried walking back the route she had taken earlier that day, and she immediately regretted not taking in her surroundings better. The hospital was a lot bigger than it looked from the outside. Each and every hallway looked the same; white, plain, with big windows and sometimes a machine that held all kinds of soft drinks. After about half an hour, when Sakura was ready to pull her hair out, finally the door to the waiting room came in sight. She was too tired to great the woman at the counter, so just walked past her, leaving the woman to look up from her magazine and raise an eyebrow at the girl's back as she crossed the room and trudged through the revolving doors, out of the building and into the night.

* * *

_'Beep beep beep beep bee-'_

The alarm clock stopped it's screaming the second Sakura's hand hit the snooze-button.

She cracked open her eyes and sat up. She felt like she had been overrun by a bus.

''Hng-'' She moaned, ruffling her messy hair. Everything hurt, but her muscles ached the most.

She hated her habit of twisting and turning in her sleep as soon as she was worried. She hoped it would die. **(2)**

The pinkette swung her feet out of the bed, wincing at the pain her suffering muscles gave her.

Almost mechanically, she stood up and walked out of her room. She entered the bathing room and took a quick sink shower (She still had to call the repairman to fix the actual shower shower). She shampooed her hair, moved her head under the faucet and cleaned it of all of the remaining shampoo. Then she turned the iron cock, ignoring the shrill squeak it gave, and rubbed her hair dry with one of the towels that hung from the towel rack.

After getting dressed in a pair of white jeans, a tight, peach coloured top and her favourite all stars, Sakura once again entered the bathing room. She walked right up to the mirror and took in her face. Was it just her, or did she look really unattractive?

Her face wasn't ugly or anything, no, it was the opposite. Her face had exactly the right shape and a pale colour, and her cheekbones stood out. Her eyes were the lightest shade of green she had ever seen on a person and her lips were full and naturally pink coloured.

But still... Her face looked kind of neglected. Her eyelashes were too light, making it seem as if she didn't have any at all. Her skin was a bit rough and greasy, and there were dark circles underneath her eyes.

She looked around in the bathroom until her gaze lingered on the closet near the sink.

It was where her mother kept her make-up before, well... You know.

Sakura hesitated, she suddenly felt nervous. Should she?

She made up her mind. Sakura opened up one of the drawers and took out mascara and foundation. Luckily her and her mom had the same skin tone. After she finished putting on the make-up and studied her reflection in the mirror, she had to admit it looked a lot better. The pinkette didn't understand why she cared about her looks all of a sudden; she hadn't given a shit for years. She dismissed it.

The teenage girl walked downstairs, grabbed a sandwich and her shoulder bag and walked through the front door. Opening up the curtains was no use since she hadn't closed them that night. She had been too tired.

She closed her eyes to the sunlight. The weather looked a lot better. Although there were still some clouds drifting about in the sky like chunks of wool, none of them covered the sun. It was going to be a beautiful day.

When Sakura arrived at school, she was in time to her own surprise. She looked around to see if anyone she knew was in the schoolyard, until she noticed Karin. She was leaning against the wall of the school building, a cigarette between her lips. She was the only girl wearing black hotpants to school, earning her disapproving and bitchy looks from the other female students. Exactly the opposite from the male population, Sakura noticed. Some guys were actually_ drooling_.

''Karin!'' Sakura greeted. The senior turned her head in Sakura's direction, sending crimson strands of hair flying around her head.

''Sakura! What's up? How was your weekend?''

''Oh, it was fine, really,'' Nobody needed to know about her mom's nervous breakdown, ''How was yours?''

''Well, honestly, I'm a bit hung over. But you look a lot better, girl!'' Karin said, leaning in a bit to study Sakura's face, ''Did you put on make-up?''

The pinkette looked away from the girl before her, twisting a strand of hair around her finger nervously. She had hoped it wouldn't be too conspicuous.

''It's not a bad thing, you know,'' Karin said, blowing tiny clouds of smoke into the morning air, ''It's a good thing to care about your looks, being a girl and all.''

Sakura was thankful for the senior's words. But just as she opened her mouth to thank her, she noticed that Karin's eyes were narrowed, staring at something behind Sakura. She looked behind her, only to notice Suigetsu walking right up to them, a cup of water in his hand.

''Nice glasses, glasses.'' He greeted Karin smugly, revealing his pointed teeth.

''Nice ass, ass.'' Karin retorted, her brows furrowing.

''Spoiling the air with your cigarettes this early in the morning?'' He asked her, sucking water up through the straw in his drink audibly.

''Don't act all sanctimonious with me, Hozuki. You smoke, too.''

''Yeah, but it's cool when I do it.''

''Help me-'' Karin responded dryly, ''-Your ego invades my space... I'm suffocating.''

Sakura giggled softly, but as she studied the big clock hanging above the front doors of the school, she noticed it was 28 minutes past 8 already. If she didn't go inside now, she would be late.

''Bye,'' She waved at Karin and Suigetsu, but they were both too caught up in the bickering to hear it. Sakura sighed and turned her back to them.

She pushed and drudged her way through the mass of tired, hung over and cranky students until she finally reached her locker and pulled it open. She grabbed a hold of the books she needed for the first three periods (The first was Homeroom class -she didn't need any books for that one- the second Math and the third English,) and once more dove into the crowd.

She managed to arrive at the classroom alive. At least half of her classmates weren't present yet.

As soon as Sakura placed one foot inside the room, the school-bell rung. She hurried to her seat, afraid to be in the way of the popular students -they usually were the ones that were late.

She dropped her bag and plopped down on the wooden chair behind her table, just in time to see little miss Look-at-me-I-might-be-a-brain dead-bitch-but-that-sure-doesn't-stop-every-guy-at-school-of-ogling-me parading into the classroom like she was some kind of supermodel. Sakura could just about stop herself from hissing.

She brought her face to the blank sheet of paper in front of her, pretending to write something down. In truth, she was trying not to glare at Ino as she walked over to her table, swinging her butt into every possible direction in a manner that most guys found 'attractive'. **(3)**

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the sheet of paper. One side of her was just annoyed at the blonde, but another side of her wondered _why_ she was so angry. Of course, she had been bullied, but she had never blamed the bullies for this.

She had always thought it was her own fault somehow. For being a freak or for being ugly... She thought that maybe all of the bullying was just Karma. A punishment for the fact that she had treated other people badly during middle-school.

''Hey there, fellow students!'' A voice said cheerfully. Sakura's mood brightened instantly.

She looked up from the paper and watched Naruto walking to his seat, his bag swung casually over his shoulder. He caught her gaze and gave her a quick wave before sitting down behind Ino. The seat next to her was still empty -Shikamaru had probably overslept- as well as the seat beside Naruto's.

Ino turned around in her seat, swinging her platinum blond hair over her shoulder, '''Sup?''

Sakura could hear her voice even from the back of the classroom. She didn't hear Naruto's reply, though, because at that second Sasuke strolled through the classroom door, both of his hands in the pockets of his jeans and his expression bored. Sakura's heart skipped a beat. She averted her gaze to the sheet of paper again. She knew she shouldn't like him, but then why'd he have to be so...

-So drop-dead gorgeous?

''Dude, you look like a corpse!'' Naruto gasped. Sakura could see, from the way his cheek puffed out, that he was smiling.

''Shut up,'' Sasuke muttered, ''My brother threw a party at our house last night.''

''Itachi?'' Ino asked with sudden interest, ''Isn't he tired, then?''

Everyone knew Ino had been after Sasuke's older brother from the moment she met him.

''Of course. But he's skipping today. He reported himself ill.''

''Tsk. How come he gets away with that every time?'' Naruto muttered.

''He doesn't sound like a twelve year old girl,'' Sasuke teased.

''Shut up, my voice is totally normal!''

''Whatever.''

''Good morning, students,'' Kakashi trudged into the classroom, ''I'm sorry for being late, but I saw a pickpocket taking an old woman's purse. I just _had_ to beat up the criminal and give her back her purse, you know...''

A wave of loud groans and snorts erupted from the students.

''Anyway,'' Kakashi said, putting his leather teacher's bag on the desk, ''I wanted to discuss with you the upcoming election campaign for the student preside-''

He was irrupted by a voice coming out of the tiny speakers that hung from the wall, _''Sakura Haruno, please go to the principal's office.'' _

Sakura had been dozing off, so it wasn't until the second time the message was repeated that she noticed that the person doing the announcement meant _her_. Her classmates had all turned around in their seats, giving her stares that Sakura couldn't read.

Kakashi coughed, ''Well, Sakura, aren't you going?''

''-Er, yes.'' Sakura muttered. She picked up her back and hurried out of the classroom.

She half-walked half-ran up the stairs until she finally arrived at the upper level, panting. She now faced a door with a sign that said _'Principal'_.

The teenage girl waited a few seconds until she had stopped panting a bit, and then gave the door a soft knock, earning a ''Yes, come in!'' from somebody behind it.

Sakura hesitatingly took a hold of the handle and pushed it down. The door opened to reveal Tsunade, sitting behind her desk. She was doing some paper work.

''-Er, hello principal,'' Sakura stuttered.

''Hello, Sakura,'' said Tsunade, she put down her pen and looked up, ''I wanted to tell you your mother woke up.''

Sakura gasped, ''Oh- Oh really? What did she say- Did she m-... _Did she mention me?_''

Tsunade sighed and bit her lip, ''She said that she needed some time to get away from it all.''

Sakura nodded; she could understand.

''She said you would stand in the way of this, so she is going on a holiday. She said you should stay at home.''

At this, though, Sakura's heart dropped a little. She would stand in the way of her mother's recovery? By what, cooking for her? Making money?

Tsunade closed her eyes, Sakura's mother had actually said that Sakura was too much of a bother, but the blonde woman could not bring herself to tell the teenage student this. In fact, she could barely bring herself to look at Sakura. She looked so hurt.

And of course, anybody could see that Sakura did too much in their house hold. She was too mature for her age. She was sixteen. Sixteen year old girls should do fun things with their friends and party and go out with guys. Sakura did none of these things. She worried about things people her age shouldn't worry about.

''Did- did she say anything else?'' Sakura asked, her eyes glued to the carpet on the floor.

''She said that you should get more independent- That you should get a job. And that you couldn't count on her to take care of you the rest of your life.'' Tsunade formulated. It hurt her to say these things, but she felt that Sakura needed to know.

At that moment Sakura was so very glad she never cried, ''-Ok,'' She rasped.

She just didn't understand why her mother said something like that. She _did _know that Sakura had taken care of her with all that she had in her the past two months, didn't she? She _did _realise that Sakura had four jobs to pay the bills, right? She _did _know that the only keeping her from falling apart was the fact that if she gave in, her mother would suffer the consequences as well, didn't she?

''-Principal Tsunade?'' Sakura asked.

''Yes?''

''Was that it?''

''Yes.''

''Okay.''

With that, Sakura turned around and made her way over to the door. She stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder, ''Does mom want to see me?''

''No.'' Tsunade said, looking down at her table. It was weird. Normally the middle aged woman was headstrong. She could say things without ever thinking twice. But when she talked to Sakura Haruno... All of this seemed to fade. The girl just seemed so fragile and vulnerable she could hardly stand it.

''Okay.''

Sakura wobbled through the door and closed it behind her. The hallway was empty. She leaned back against the cool, wooden surface of the door and took a deep breath.

_'Breathe, Sakura_,_' _She thought, _'__Just breathe.'_

The air in the hallway seemed so muggy, though, that it was hard. She retreated down the stairs, plannning on going back to the classroom, until an idea struck her.

She turned around and walked another hallway until what she searched came in sight; the glass sliding doors that led to the school balcony.

Sakura opened the sliding doors and immediately a shiver ran down her spine, _'It's so cold up here.'_

But she didn't mind. It helped her relax. The cold, though, didn't stop her from feeling sick. And so she stumbled over to the balcony-railing and gripped it tightly. She could see the whole school yard from there. But to be honest, the school yard was the last place she thought of at that moment.

Her fingers tightened around the stone railing. She bent down and rested her forehead on it.

She opened her mouth to let out a long sigh, and then fell on her knees. She hugged her arms around herself, trying desperately not to make gasping noises.

She vaguely heard the sliding of the balcony doors from behind her, but she paid no attention to it until a voice called out, ''Sakura?'

She recognised the voice as Naruto's, but didn't move an inch. After all, where should she move to? She squeezed her eyes shut.

Rushed footsteps approached, followed by a soft thumping noise. She guessed he must have lowered himself on his knees as well. She could hear his breathing, but he didn't do anything. He just sat there.

''I told Kakashi that I was sick,'' He whispered, ''It's okay if you don't want to talk about it.''

Sakura wanted to tell him that she was thankful, but right at that moment her tongue decided to fail her. And so she brought her hands to her face and rested it in them. Neither of them spoke a word.

From that moment on Sakura knew he was her friend.

* * *

**********(1) White and red makes pink! Ghehe, smart aren't I? XD**

******(2) Sorry if I made her a little too grumpy, ghehe. I usually suffer from like a REALLY bad morning mood and I'm the author so yeah. My power knows no limit. 8D**

**(3) Holy crap, please excuse the major Ino bashing in this chapter! D8**

**Please review, it encourages me to write faster.**

_**~Lion3queen**_


	7. Cake

**Hello you guys! Look at me, I updated! 8D**

**Ok, here's some things I wanted to tell you:**  
**Somebody reviewed that it's annoying how I give all characters that aren't by Kishimoto English names.  
****That's because of this: I get very annoyed when people put their OC's in their story's. XD Honestly, it makes me want to pull my hair out. And, since most OC's have names like... Oh, I dunno... 'Mitsuki' or 'Okumi' or whatever, I wanted my characters to be as far away from fanmade as possible. I don't know how you feel, but I don't get annoyed by characters that don't have a OC name easily. **  
**...Did that make sense? XD**

**But, if you have a story with an OC of yours in it, please don't feel insulted. You are the writer, you have every right to decide who's in your story's and who isn't. :)**

* * *

''So you've been taking care of your mother and yourself?''

Sakura nodded, her bangs covering her face.

She and Naruto were seated on top of his roof, their legs dangling from the edge. They were each staring ahead of them, both too concentrated to really see anything.

''Wasn't it hard?''

''I managed,'' she mumbled.

He turned his head to give her an awkward stare.

''Ok. I felt like I was going mad,'' she admitted, hanging her head even more.

They were silent for a while.

Even though it was five o'clock, the sun already had that golden evening glow. Normally, because of the high skyline, the citizens of Konoha never got to see anything of the sun after three. Now, though, Naruto and Sakura were a part of the skyline. So high. So very high above everybody else that it seemed as if they were in heaven itself.

''And now?''

''My mother needs some time to, you know, get away. She wants to calm down.''

''And she leaves you on your own?''

''I'll be just fine. You succeeded, didn't you?'' She huffed, crossing her arms.

'She took it as an offense on her responsibility, didn't she?' Naruto wondered.

Naruto huffed as well, annoyed at the pinkette's obnoxiousness. The bright sunlight went dim when the sun disappeared behind the clouds.

''It wasn't meant as an insult,'' He muttered, ''I was just wondering why she would leave you alone if you always helped her.''

Hearing this, Sakura untangled her arms and fiddled her hands together on her laps. She bit her lip. _'That's what I thought as well...'_

Suddenly a chilly breeze caught the two teens off guard. Of course, it shouldn't be such a surprise to them since they were seated on top of a building and all, but it had been surprisingly calm all day. Sakura cursed herself for not taking something with sleeves with her just in case.

''You cold?'' Naruto asked her.

''No,'' Sakura huffed stubbornly.

Naruto rolled his eyes, removed his jacket and threw it at the pinkette's head.

She gave a soft squeak, shaking her head and heaving her arms up in the air. When she finally realised what had happened, she grabbed a hold of the jacket and pulled it out of her line of vision. She looked down on it but then shot Naruto a questioning glance, ''Eh?''

''Put it on,'' Naruto muttered edgily.

''Oh, right, thanks.''

They were silent once more.

Sakura Looked down at her fingers. They were barely visible because of the black sleeves from Naruto's jacket. It was way too big for her. She didn't always feel that small, but at that moment she felt like she was drowning.

Sakura was woken up from her thoughts when the world around them, again, caught on fire as the golden sunlight touched the earth. The pinkette gave Naruto a few hard pats on the shoulder, resulting in him almost falling down, startled by the surprising amount of strength Sakura obviously kept in store in her petite body. She pointed at the sun excitedly while shouting, ''Look Naruto, it's heaven!''

He gave a soft chuckle at her childishness. But when he looked up, he was surprised. The picture did look like heaven all right.

The clouds were drifting about in front of the light orange like golden dots of wool. Behind them was the bright sun, trying it's best to peek through the clouds before it resulting in slim rays of sunlight sparkling down on the earth like sparkling waterfalls. Of course the raven silhouette of the skyline underlined it, only emphasizing the spectacle above.

''Hey Naruto,'' Sakura said after a while.

''What is it?''

''Why don't we go to the library?''

''The library?''

''It helps me take my mind of things.''

''I don't know. I've got more interesting things to do.''

''Like what?''

''Like watching dust fall on my desk.'' Naruto smirked.

Sakura chuckled, ''Ouch!''

A silence followed, in which both teens gazed at the sunset. After a while though, Naruto said, ''Why don't we do something else?''

''Like...?''

''Like... Er...'' Naruto started, tapping his chin. He then snapped his fingers and shouted, ''-Like getting ice cream!''

''Ice cream?'' Sakura muttered. It had been a long time since she had tasted ice cream. She couldn't even remember what it tasted like.

''Yeah, what about it?''

Sakura was silent for a while, over thinking it. Wasn't it expensive? She should be careful with her money, now more than ever. But of course, now that her mother was gone, she had some extra money.

Yes, she could get ice cream. She just shouldn't take a fancy one.

She smiled, ''Why not?''

''Ok, then why don't we get it Friday afternoon, after school?'' Naruto said, earning a questioning look from the pinkette next to him. ''It's too dark down there now.'' Naruto pointed down the building, at the streets, ''Ice cream tastes the best when the weather is hot and sunny.'' He explained.

They were silent again. Naruto stretched and let himself fall on his back.

Sakura peeked at him from the corners of her eyes. His eyelids were closed and he was wearing the biggest, most goofy and satisfied grin she had ever seen. She almost chuckled.

''Hey, Naruto?'' She asked him, poking him in the side.

''Hm?''

''Why do you like the sun so much?''

He opened one of his sapphire coloured eyes, measuring the pink haired girl's expression. Then the eyelid drooped again.

''I guess,'' Naruto started after a short while, ''There's various reasons. For starters, it kind of gives everything a safe feeling,'' He put his arms behind his head, making himself even more comfortable, ''And when the sun shines, people tend to get more friendly and outgoing.'' He turned his head so he could look at her, ''And what about you?''

''What about me?''

''You like the sun a lot as well, don't you?''

''...I think I might like it because of the reasons you listed,'' She said, leaning forward to place her elbows on her knees and rest her chin on her hands, ''But also... Because my flowers adore the sun. They get more gorgeous with every sunny day.''

''Flowers?'' Naruto mused.

''Oh, yes,'' Sakura said, dropping one of her hands so she was able to gaze at the sunset, ''I like gardening. Didn't I tell you?''

''Nope.''

''Well, I do,'' the teenage girl spoke, clasping a strand of bubblegum pink hair that had been lingering in her line of vision and tucking it behind her ear, ''You should go see my garden sometimes. It's gorgeous.''

''Yeah, who knows.''

* * *

The week passed without much important things happening. Just silent schooldays, tests, homework and lonesome evenings. Sakura continued living through those days, for unknown reasons longing for the upcoming Friday afternoon. But the days were long and, as you probably experienced yourself, they seem to get even longer when you are looking forward to something.

Finally, there was the upcoming sun, announcing the start of a brand new day. A brand new _Fri_day, I might add.

* * *

In a morning-light lit bedroom, a white varnished bed stood proudly against one of the walls. A mop of pink hair peeked out from under the covers.  
The room itself was neat. There was an almost empty cherry wooden bookcase standing next to a desk. Against the opposing white wall, a closet was placed.

Though there weren't many personal belongings lingering in on the floor like in a normal teenager's room, the room was kept clean. The furniture was shiny and well kept. This was probably a result of Sakura's obsession with cleaning.

There were doors on the far side of the room, adorned with curtains in a light shade of pink. They led to a balcony that allowed one to oversee the entire suburb, and in the distance the high buildings from the Central Business District of Konoha. If Sakura squinted and took the time to really search, she would without a doubt be able to distinguish the building holding Naruto's apartment from the other grey rectangles.

The serenity of the room is immediately broken as the shrill beeping of an alarm clock pierces the morning air. A low groan erupts from somewhere underneath the covers of the bed and the pink mop of hair moves, revealing a cherubic face.

''Great,'' Sakura rasped, hitting the alarm clock with her fist. It stopped beeping immediately. ''Another a-ma-zing school day.''

She sat up with a groan and ruffled her hair. Then, she shifted on the bed and stood up groggily. The girl was about to open her bedroom door and enter the bathroom, when the calendar hanging from the door gained her attention. It was Friday.

_''Friday!'' _Sakura yelped, clapping her hands together. She was going to get ice cream with Naruto later that day.

Thinking of that, she almost skipped down the passage and into the bathroom. She took a sink shower -like she had been forced to take the past week- and then walked back into her room, still rubbing her hair dry with her favourite red towel.

She put on some underwear first, and then peeked outside through her window. It was going to be sunny, she noticed.

Sakura pulled open her closet and searched it for anything that would be suitable for a warm, sunny day. The pinkette owned quite many clothes. Mainly because, back when she was twelve, she adored shopping and buying useless stuff. Luckily the clothes still fit her now, four years later, because she couldn't exactly afford a whole new wardrobe.

''Yes!'' Sakura chirped when she found something suitable underneath a pile of clothes. It was a white summer dress with light blue spaghetti straps and a ribbon in the exact same shade of blue in the middle of the neck-piece. It wasn't too frilly, unlike the other dresses she owned.

After Sakura had put it on she noticed it ended well above her knees.

_'How weird,'_ she couldn't remember it had been this short when she had worn it a few years before. She guessed her legs must have grown more than she thought.

It wasn't a problem, Sakura figured, if she put on a legging underneath. Luckily, she had a few. She picked out a white one and put it on, then pulled on a light pink buttoned vest, leaving it un-buttoned, a silver chain she had gotten for valentine's day a few years ago -she had never found out who gave it to her- and finally tied her hair up in a loose bun, leaving her side bangs out so they were cupping her face.

The pinkette then hopped over to the bathroom, put on some make up -she was finally getting the hang of it- and headed downstairs to grab some breakfast.

* * *

That day seemed to pass even more slowly than the previous ones, but even despite that Sakura paid attention during every class. It was just who she was.

The people seated in the front of the class, though, were less focused.

Naruto, for instance, had been scratching his table with his pen when mr Yamato passed his table and halted. He slowly turned his head to look down at the blond teenager and waited a few seconds to see if he noticed him. When, after a short while, he still got no reaction, he snatched the pen away from him and barked, ''We do _not _besmirch our tables with pens during my class, Uzumaki!'' The teacher then walked on, put the pen on his desk, grabbed a piece of chalk and started writing on the chalk board.

Naruto, visibly unimpressed, took out a new pen from his pen case and continued scratching the table.

Sakura rested her face on her hand palm and tilted her head to look outside through the window. She sighed and returned to her notebook. She underlined the sentences from her notes that were important for the upcoming test and then copied the new notes on the chalk board as precise she possibly could. She even added and scrapped some things.

It was a warm day and Sakura found herself barely able to concentrate. She wasn't the only one, really. Even Sasuke wasn't focusing on what mr Yamato was saying.

Sakura snapped her head up when the screeching sound of the bell filled her ears. She put her books in her bag, stood up and made her way to the classroom where she had math. It was going to be the last period of that day.

She stopped in her tracks when a thought struck her, _'Maybe I can walk to class with Naruto!' _But, when she looked around, she could just see him walking through the classroom door. He was was laughing at something his friends had said, Ino at one side of him and Sasuke at the other.

The pinkette sighed and continued on her way to the next class.

* * *

The last class was the most boring one for Naruto. Math wasn't exactly his best nor his favourite subject, so he was even less focused than normally during school time. He moaned audibly, ignoring the cold stare Sarutobi shot him.

The blond smirked. He loved pissing teachers off. It was almost too easy.

He looked down when a small, folded note was thrown on his table from Sasuke's direction.

_'Ino, Shikamaru and me are going to see a movie after school. Are you coming with us?'_

Without bothering to check if Anko noticed, he tore off a piece from a page from his notebook and scribbled down, **'Nah, can't. I've got something to do already.'**

_'Are you sure? Kiba is coming too. He said he'd bring Hinata with him.'_

**'Nah, that's ok. =] Besides, why would I care?'**

_'She's got a crush on you. Kiba promised her you'd be there.'_

**'Everyone knows he's crushing on her. Let him have her.' **That was true. Naruto didn't like Hinata like that. It'd be unfair to Kiba if he started dating her. Especially since they were friends.

It took a few minutes before Naruto got a reply.

_'Whatever. What are you doing after school, then, if you're not hanging out with us?'_

**'I promised Sakura I'd get some ice-cream with her.'**

Again, it took a few minutes for Sasuke to answer.

_'Are you still busy with her?'_

**'Yeah.'**

_'You're spending less time with us lately, dude. Don't forget who your real friends are.'_

**'Like I'd do that.'**

Before Sasuke had the chance to tear off another paper, though, the bell rang.

Naruto's friends accompanied him to his locker, but skid to a halt when, after the blond had slammed his locker shut, he didn't tag along with them.

''What's wrong, Naruto?'' Ino asked, placing one hand firmly on her hip, ''Aren't you coming with us?''

''Nah,'' Naruto shrugged casually.

''Fine.'' Ino pouted, crossing her arms, ''But call me and Sasuke tonight, 'kay?''

''Yeah, sure.''

She then hooked her right arm with Shikamaru's and her left with Sasuke's -they both tried shaking her off, but didn't succeed- and marched up to the doors, where Kiba and Hinata were already waiting for them.

Naruto sighed and leaned back against the cool metal of his locker. The weather was sure getting warm. What was it, June?

''Naruto!'' A voice chimed from his left. Sakura came walking up to him, smiling broadly.

''What are you so happy about?'' He couldn't help but mutter.

''We're getting ice cream,'' She explained, placing her hands on her hips. Her smile fell and was replaced with a deep frown.

_'Since when's she so defensive?'_ He thought. He was just annoyed because he really wanted to go with his friends. But he widened his eyes and smiled, ''Oh, that's right! Sorry, I forgot!'' He covered.

Her expression brightened after he was done speaking, and she took a few steps in the direction of the school doors. She paused and waited for him to catch up with her before continuing on her way.

When they walked through the doors and searched the sunny school yard for Naruto's scooter, the blond caught sight of a blinding glint coming from Sakura. He turned his head in curiosity, and almost tripped down the stone steps when he recognised the object dangling from her pale neck.

When he was seven years old, he'd done chores for Jiraiya and his neighbours for four months before he finally had enough money to buy the silver chain for her. He had gotten into a fight with the jeweller and got kicked out of the shop, and only after waiting for four hours in the pouring rain the jeweller had let him in so he could buy it. Naruto had sent it to her for Valentine's day, but didn't dare to put his name on the card.

''Is something wrong?'' Sakura asked him, awaking him from his thoughts.

''-Er, nope,'' Naruto muttered and looked away from her. From the corners of his eyes, he could see Sakura cocking an eyebrow at him, but he distracted her by pointing at a random orange object and saying, ''Hey, there's my scooter!''

A few awkward seconds followed, before Sakura cleared her throat and muttered, ''-Er, Naruto?''

''Yeah?''

''That's a garbage can.''

Mentally, Naruto stomped himself. _'Who the fuck puts down an _orange_ garbage can?' _

''Er... Right. Sorry.''

''There it is,'' She mused, tapping him on the shoulder. He followed her gaze and noticed his scooter standing proudly against the iron fence surrounding the school.

''Oh, yeah. Let's go.''

They walked over to the scooter and rode it to the sidewalk. Then Naruto got on it and cast Sakura a glance over his shoulder. She didn't look like she was planning on sitting down behind him any time soon.

''You climbing up?'' He muttered.

''-Can I drive your scooter?'' She asked him unexpectedly.

He looked at her as if she were insane, his mouth hanging agape and his eye twitching. His scooter was like his baby.

...But he wasn't telling her that.

''Maybe sometime later,''_'...When Sasuke volunteers on playing Cinderella in Disney World.'_

''Ok!'' She said then, practically jumping on the scooter. Naruto stumbled a bit but quickly regained his balance.

They rode off towards the centre of town.

* * *

''There it is!'' Sakura said, and pointed towards a shop on the far side of the plaza, ''Come on!''

Naruto followed the girl as she hurried over to the pink ice-cream parlour. He almost had to run to keep up with her.

Sakura wondered why she had spent so little time in the shopping centre. It was gorgeous.

It was so big it was like a small town. The ceilings were high, and several floors circled around the main hall, with low glass walls that allowed the people on the higher floors to look down at the ground floor. There were big corridors leading from the main hallway into several directions. There were big, high windows and a beautiful, round window in the middle of the high ceiling. A pearly white fountain stood in the middle of the hallway, sending splatters of sparkly water flying around. Of course, shops and people were everywhere.

The two teenagers stopped walking abreast the fountain when they caught sight of the enormous mass of people surrounding the ice cream parlour.

''It's kind of... Crowded, isn't it?'' Naruto muttered. There were so many persons surrounding it that the cheerful colours and paintings were barely visible. The door was hidden completely by the crowd.

''-Hm... Yeah, you're right.'' Sakura said, pursing her lips.

''So, what are we going to do?'' the blond asked her.

''What about I find my way in there and get our ice cream?'' She turned to face him, ''I'm smaller than you.''

''Yeah sure, good luck!'' He said, ''And don't get crushed by those people. Well, don't until I've got my ice cream.''

''Jerk,'' She chuckled before turning around and taking off towards the ice-cream parlour. He sat down on the edge and leaned back, listening to the clicking of her slippers against the marble floor until it faded.

After a few minutes he was startled by an R&B song that started playing obnoxiously loudly. The tanned boy took out his cell phone from his pocket and answered it with a, ''Hey.''

_''Hello, Naruto,''_ A masculine voice replied.

''Jiraiya! Pervy old man!'' He called out suddenly, much more cheerful.

_''Call me something different, will you? I'm not that old.''_

''You've gotta get out of that denial sometimes''

A low chuckle could be heard on the other side of the line, followed by a, ''I haven't seen you in a while. How are your grades doing?''

''The usual.''

_''Figures.'' _Naruto pouted at this, before his expression brightened, _''Why don't we grab some ramen later?'_

''Yeah!'' The blond called out, ''I'd love to!''

_''Ok, I'll drop by later then.''_A young family passed the fountain. The woman held a small kid in her arms, but she was having a hard time because it was trashing and screaming. Naruto almost felt sorry for her. _''Do I hear screaming? Where are you, Naruto?'' _

''It's just a little kid. I'm having ice-cream with somebody at the mall.''

_''Who, your friends?''_

''Nope,''

_''Then with who? Are you on a date?''_

''N-''

_''-Who're you on a date with? Your friend Ino?''_

''She's just a friend.''

_''Then who's with you?''_

''Sakura.''

_''Sakura?_ Childhood-crush _Sakura?' _Naruto rolled his eyes. He could almost_ hear _the man winking, _''So you finally got her to go out with you! Great, Naruto! That's my boy!''_

''It isn't a date. We're just getting ice-cream.''

_''That's where it starts, Naruto.''_

''Shut up, old man.'' Naruto muttered. He caught sight of Sakura waving him from the corner of his eyes and waved back at her, ''There she is. I'll talk to you later.''

_''Say hi to her for m-''_

Naruto hung up on him, knowing that Jiraiya would tease him about Sakura all evening.

He directed his sapphire irises on the pinkette again. She was balancing the ice-cream in her hands, trying not to let them drop down on the floor.

He couldn't help but notice she was wearing a dress. It flowed down her hips and actually looked quite good on her. He couldn't remember the last time he had noticed anything involving her looks. For a second, she looked like her twelve year old self again. The beautiful, proud, stuck-up girl she had once been.

It was gone in a flash, though, when she stopped in front of him and held out the treat, ''Here, Naruto!''

No, she had definitely changed.

''What flavour is it?'' He asked, taking it from her. It was bright orange.

''Oh, I took mango and orange for you!'' She said, sitting down next to him.

''Those're my favourites! How'd you know?''

''I'm not sure... I guess you just really seemed like a tropical fruit person to me.''

''What do you have?''

She cast him a glance from the corners of her eyes, ''Oh, I took raspberry.''

They spent about fifteen minutes just eating their ice cream and talking and having a good time, until it was almost time for the shops to close.

''No way!'' Sakura giggled when Naruto told her about one of the pranks he played on their teachers, ''You're so mean to them!''

''Maybe.'' He shrugged with a smirk.

''Why do you always enjoy pestering them?''

''I dunno,'' that girl always asked him such weird questions, ''I just like their reactions I guess. I love how they try to punish me but know that it's no use. I enjoy their attempts at trying to change my behaviour.''

The pinkette laughed again.

''What is it?'' Naruto asked her, cocking an eyebrow.

''You're such a brat!'' She chuckled.

He ran a hand through his blond spikes, ''I'm not _that_ bad.''

''Yes you are!'' She said, punching him on the shoulder. It must have been meant as a playful punch, but almost sent him falling into the fountain nonetheless.

Naruto rubbed his arm, ''That hurt!''

''Oh come on, don't be a baby.'' She said, licking her ice cream.

He frowned at a shop on the opposite side of the plaza, crossing his arms.

It was then that he took notice of the decreased number of people in the mall.

He looked around. Several shops were closed already.

''I'm going to the toilet, I'll be right back,'' Naruto said, putting down his ice cream beside him and getting up. He cast her a glance over his shoulder, though, and pointed at the treat on the stone fountain, ''Oh, yeah. Touch mine and I'll feed it to you faster than you can say 'brain-freeze'.''

Sakura smiled up at him, ''Can't promise you anything!''

When he came back later, he found his ice cream sitting on the exact same spot he had put it down minutes before. Sakura's position, though, had changed.

''Dah, crap!'' She muttered, looking down at her lap. She had accidentally dropped her ice cream, causing in her white dress now being smudged with pink.

Naruto snickered as she attempted to dab her dress dry with a handkerchief. Hearing his laughter, she put more force into the dabbing. Her bun started bobbing up and down.

''We should go,'' He said when she had finished trying to save her dress -and failed. There was a pink spatter on it, blurred a bit, but still visibly there-, getting up from the edge of the fountain.

Sakura sent him a questioning look before she cast the big clock hanging above the main doors a glance and noticed it was six o'clock already. The shops were closing.

''Yeah,'' she got up as well and picked up her bag. On their way to the bycicle stands outside, they passed a waste-bin and threw the plastic ice cream cups -and in Sakura's case a sticky, pink handkerchief- into them.

''D'you need me to take you home? I'm kind of in a hurry.'' Naruto asked her, sitting down on his scooter.

She shook her head, ''Nope. I'll just take the bus. I have to go grocery shopping anyway.''

Naruto didn't move. He thought for a while, before he turned his head to face her and asked her, ''Do you have a sheet of paper and a pen?''

Not understanding him fully, she reached for her bag and tore a page out of one of her notebooks. She then took a pen out of her pen case and gave it to him. He took them and scribbled down something on the paper.

The pinkette took it back from him and read it's content.

It was a telephone number.

She looked up at him, ''Why are you giving me this?''

''You're a girl and you're alone,'' He ran a hand through his spikes and looked away from her, ''Call me when you think something's wrong or when you are scared or something.''

''Scared? _Me?_'' She laughed a bit too loudly, ''Don't make me laugh.''

_'You looked pretty scared that night I saved you from that thug.' _''Yeah, maybe I'm exaggerating.'' He muttered, ''Just keep it in case.''

''Well, okay then,'' Sakura put the letter in her bag and zipped it shut, ''Bye.'' With that, she turned around and crossed the road.

The blond took off towards his apartment.

* * *

When he arrived at the building, his attention was caught by a fancy, black car parked on the parking lot. He recognised it immediately, _'that old perv is here already?' _

Naruto practically dove off his scooter. He was too distracted to think of taking the elevator and sped up the stairs, leaving an old lady to narrow her eyes at his back and mutter something that sounded like, ''Kids these days...''

When the teen finally arrived at the hallway bordering on his apartment panting, he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and opened the door. He walked into his apartment and crossed the hallway, and Jiraiya was revealed, slumped down on the couch. His tie was undone and a beer sat in his hand. He took a sip and then burped loudly.

It was unbelievable this man was a businessman.

''Yo,'' He waved when he noticed Naruto.

''Make yourself at home?'' the blond smirked, walking into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and got himself a beer as well.

When he walked back into the room, Jiraiya had turned off the television.

''How's business going?''

''Great. I swear I'm _this _close to getting Tsuna Inc to coöperate with us!'' He exclaimed, grinning, ''How was your date with Sakura?''

''It was _not_a date!'' Naruto snapped.

Jiraiya only shook his head, still wearing that goofy grin, ''_Hm-m-m. _Don't deny it.''

''I'm not admitting stuff that isn't true!''

''Yeah, yeah,'' Jiraiya mused and patted Naruto on the head, ''Let's go eat.''

He turned around and walked into the hallway, leaving Naruto in his wake.

''-Er, wait!'' the blond called out, running after him, ''I don't have to pay, do I?''  
''Why? You spent this month's money already?''

''It's been a long month...''

''You could get a job, Naruto.''

''Tsk. Yeah, like I'd do that.''

* * *

Much later that evening, Naruto sat on his roof. Some people inhabiting an apartment in the bordering buildings had forgot to close their curtains, resulting in Naruto now being able to watch television with them.

He had convinced Jiraiya to pay for his ramen earlier that evening, and had a great time. They had just talked and laughed together in a way he only could with his guardian.

They didn't see each other much lately because Jiraiya was a busy man, and Naruto had other things to do like football, school -even though that didn't take much of his time- and doing stuff with his friends.

He took a sip from the mug of tea he had taken on the roof with him and sighed. He took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Ino's number.  
Barely a second later Ino's voice chimed into his ear, _''Helloooo!''_

''Hey Ino, you told me to call you, didn't you?''

_''Yeah! Hang on, I'm on the phone with Sasuke too.''_

Naruto could hear a high tone, before Sasuke's voice muttered a, _''Did it work?''_

_''I think so! Naruto, can you hear Sasuke?''_

''-Um, yeah.''

_''Fabulous. Now tell us about Billboard Brow. Did you have a great time?'' _He could hear Ino's sarcasm through the phone.

''What d'you expect?'' He asked them, rolling his eyes. Ok, it hadn't been that bad, but he couldn't risk his friends thinking he liked spending time with her.

Naruto heard a snort. He guessed it was coming from Sasuke.

_''Tell us more. Did she do anything stupid?''_ the girl squealed.

''She dropped her ice cream on her lap.''

_''No way! That's so like her!'' _Ino giggled.

''What've you guys been up to?''

_''Oh, it was really fun! Hinata and me got to pick the movie and-''_

_''-Meaning: Ino forced her opinion on Hinata and she went along with it-''_

_''-Shuddup Sasuke! It was nothing like that. Anyway, we went to this really cute chick flick! Honestly, I loved it sooo much.''_

''I don't care anymore, really." Naruto muttered, knowing the blonde would explain the movie with as much details as she could probably fit into a half an hour. It was nine o'clock. Gossip Girl would start in thirty minutes, and Naruto knew that not even an earthquake would be able to stop his friend from watching it.

_''Who cares? I'll tell you anyway.''_ Then she gasped and squeaked, _''Oh my gosh! By the way, Naruto, I went to get some popcorn half way past the movie when Kiba didn't allow me to eat from his anymore, and there was this really cute guy! I couldn't find the salted popcorn, so he helped me and now I've got his telephone number!''_

Naruto rolled his eyes, ''You really need some girl friends, you know. I don't give a damn about your love life.''

_''Lovelife...''_Ino mused, _''That's it!''_

''-What's it?''

_''I just thought of something. Wouldn't it be a good revenge when you... When you made Sakura fall in love with you?''  
_''What?''

_''Oh come on! it'd be so funny!''_

''Wow, Ino. That's kinda mean. I don't know if I can do that, man.''

_''Of course you can! Remember what she did to you in the canteen some time ago? In front of totally _everyone_?''_

Naruto clenched his teeth. That memory made him so angry... But still, making somebody fall in love with him just so he could hurt her?

_''Come on, Naruto!'' _Ino urged, _''Perhaps she won't even fall for you! She didn't when you were younger.''_

That memory made Naruto angry as well. Flashes of pictures from himself, always trying to gain Sakura's attention but at the same time, always failing ran through his head. Images of him doing everything for her whenever she needed him and always being rejected.

''I'll do it,'' he hissed.

_''Ok, Naruto!'' _Ino cheered, _''This'll be soooo funny!'' _A jingle could be heard in the background, before Ino gasped, _''Oh wait, Gossip Girl is starting. I'll talk to you guys later!'' _With that, she hung up on her two friends.

They were silent for a while, until Sasuke said, _''Naruto, you sure about all this?''_

Naruto was startled for a second. He had almost forgotten about Sasuke, ''Yeah.'' he then said.

Naruto was furious. Ino was right. Sakura deserved it for always thinking about only herself.

_''Listen dude, don't get too carried away. Ino doesn't think about other people's feelings. She's fun to hang out with, but she's making you do stuff that isn't like you, ok?''_

''She's right this time. Sakura deserves it.'' With that, Naruto hung up.

What did that Sasuke know? He hadn't been that witch's victim for all his life.

The blond frowned. He'd make Sakura fall in love with him.

Piece of cake.

* * *

_Why look at that! Naruto has to make Sakura fall in love with him!_  
_...Wonder if he'll pull that off. ;D_

_And I made Jiraiya appear_

_...As a business man! Guahaha, who would've thought? 8D_

**Want fast updates?**

**Encourage me by reviewing. ;D**

_~Lion3queen_


	8. Suspiciously

_Hello, you guys!_  
_Thank you very much for all of the kind comments... You make me want to continue writing no matter what!_

_I don't like this chapter very much, to be honest. XD Not very much happens._  
_...Hm, just see it as a bridge to the next one, where very much WILL happen! 8D Wanna know what?_  
_Start reading then, come on!_

_~Lion3queen_

* * *

To Sakura, the atmosphere around the house didn't feel very different without her mother's presence. She had been in a surprisingly good mood the entire weekend.

It was a Sunday, and Sakura was gardening in her back yard, enjoying the warm weather. She had planted crocuses, camellia's and asters she had bought in a flower shop after going grocery shopping on Friday.

''Gorgeous,'' she whispered to them, inhaling their scent. She reached for her watering can and sprinkled the flowers with water from the faucet.

The pinkette got up, brushed off some dirt from the apron she was wearing and inspected the garden further. The roses seemed to be proliferating, she noticed. Sakura pulled the tree pruner out of the kangaroo pocket from her flower-patterned apron and trimmed the roses that stuck out from the bush. She reached down and gathered the roses in her arms. Then she went back inside, put them in a vase, filled it with water and put it down on a table.

''Beautiful!'' she sighed, rounding the wooden table.

She walked over to the laundry-room and dropped her apron in the bright green laundry-basket next to the tumble dryer before returning to the hallway, humming a song.

The girl looked at the clock hanging above the big windows when she passed the the kitchen. It was half past five pm, so Sakura still had well over an hour to go before she'd have to cook dinner. She decided she should do some cleaning in the meantime.

It had been a long time since she had hovered the living room, she remembered. The last time she had tried, her mother had thrown a book at her head. It had hurt.

Wearily, she opened the door ajar and glanced through the split. The room looked like it always did: dusty and cozy. Faint sunlight bled through the curtains, enlighting the room with an eerie, dim light. She took one step so she stood inside and ran a finger over a low, wooden closet that stood next to the door. She sneezed when a cloud of dust erupted from it. The pinkette walked back into the hallway and returned with a pair of pink, rubber gloves, some cleaning liquid, a few textile dusters and the vacuum cleaner. She tied her hair into a ponytail and began cleaning.

When she was finally done, the room didn't seem very different, except for the fact that the stifling mugginess of the room had taken place for fresh, clean air.

_'But still,' _Sakura thought, tapping her chin, _'Something seems off about it...' _

''I got it!" she chirped aloud after a few moments.

She should arrange the furniture differently! That'd make the room feel differently, too. She knew it. Her mother and father used to change the furnishing weekly, just so the house didn't feel boring.

Sakura rolled up the sleeves of her white vest and started pushing around the furniture. After about half an hour she was finally satisfied.

She had arranged the furniture so that the room seemed lighter and more spacious. The big windows had always been party hidden by dark green curtains, but Sakura had removed those and swapped them with thinner, light blue ones so that the room not only felt lighter, but that now also a part of the beautiful garden and Konoha were visible. Her mother's favourite chair she had carried up to the attic so she wouldn't have to look at it during her mom's absence. She had removed the stained, dull rug so that now the cool, black, stone tiles were visible again. Sakura wiped the mirror hanging above one of the cabinets clean with one, swift swing of her arm and then stepped back to admire her work. The room looked way better.

She gathered her cleaning tools and left the room.

That evening she ate some leftovers from previous nights, did her homework and went up to bed.

* * *

It was a Monday, and Sakura was sitting with Karin. It was lunch break, and they were outside. They had dropped their bags on the grass and were now eating their lunch, their backs resting against a big oak tree.

''The weather is so nice!'' The pinkette sighed. And it was true. The summer had just started, and it was well above thirty degrees already. The sun shone non stop, and it had been days since Sakura had last seen a cloud.

''Hm.'' Karin muttered. Her face was tinted red, and she looked warm.

''Did you do something fun this weekend?''

''Mostly just partying. How about you?''

''Not much. I did get ice cream with Naruto Friday afternoon, though!''

''Naruto? _Hot _Naruto?''

Sakura frowned? Was he that good looking? She had never taken notice of that. ''I guess,'' She said.

''Whoa, well done girl!'' Karin smiled, ''If he were a few years older, I wouldn't hold back!''

''He isn't my boyfriend or anything...'' Sakura said.

''It's not like you have to be married to have some fun with a guy.'' Karin ran a hand through her crimson locks.

Sakura was reluctant of asking the senior what she meant with 'having fun'. ''Really,'' she tried, ''we're just friends.''

''Hey, wait...'' Karin said, suddenly, ''Wasn't he one of the people that used to bother you?''

''-Er... Yes.'' Sakura took a bite from her apple.

The older girl was silent for a while, staring off into space. Then she said, ''I'd be careful with him then, Sakura.''

Sakura locked eyes with her, wondering what she was trying to say.

'''He might be a hot guy, but...-''

''-What are you saying?''

''Just be careful, ok?'' Karin loosened the collar of her vest a bit with her index finger.

''Are you ok, Karin?'' Sakura asked her, attempting to change the subject. She didn't like where this conversation was going.

''A bit hot, is all.'' The crimson haired girl explained. She took off her glasses and wiped them clean with her sleeve.

''Then why are you wearing a long-sleeved vest?'' Sakura asked, pointing at the senior's violet coloured, high collared vest. It was zipped up entirely, and the pinkette didn't understand how Karin could even breathe. She, herself, was wearing a soft pink top, a thin white skirt and white flip flops. Fine clothing for a hot day like this one.

''No.'' Karin said simply. She took her agenda out of her bag and used it to blow some cool air around her face.

''Why not?''

Karin bit her lip.

''Come on, you can tell me,'' Sakura urged, poking Karin's shoulder with her finger.

The senior took a deep breath. She cupped her hand around her mouth and whispered, ''I've got scars.''

Sakura didn't understand, ''Doesn't everybody have scars?'' Sakura did. She used to fall down a lot when she was a toddler, because she always crawled around, bumping into stuff. It used to cause her mom to freak out daily.

Karin shook her head, ''Not like mine,'' She looked at Sakura, ''I need to tell you something.''

''Sure, go ahead.''

''I was in jail for a while,'' She said in a hushed tone so that nobody else could hear, ''I had some..._ Problems _a while back. You see, when I was twelve, I... I kind of- you know, got addicted to-'' Karin stuttered.

It must be hard for her to talk about this, Sakura figured. She had never seen Karin like this before.

''Anyway, one night I came home and my parents found out. They brought me to rehab, but I escaped. I ran away and roamed Tsuna -it's where I thought my parents would never find me- I joined a gang. I always just, you know, did what the leader told me to do. But this one night, we found a little kid wandering around in the alleys. The leader planned on killing him so they could take his money. Something snapped inside me, for some reason, and I jumped in between. I told the leader that if this is what our gang did, I didn't want to be one of them. The kid had already fled the scene when the other members of the gang stabbed me repeatedly. They beat me up completely and it wasn't until next morning that somebody found me and brought me to the hospital in critical state. As soon as I'd recovered, I was brought to jail.''

Sakura listened to her story breathlessly.

''I wasn't reasonable. I got into fights with the rest of the prisoners. I was under age, though, that's why I was free about two years after that. That was half a year ago. My parents offered to let me live with them again, but I don't want to. I can't. I don't want to hurt them anymore.''

''I'm sorry...'' Sakura whispered, not sure what else to say.

''It's okay. It has all passed.'' Karin said, smiling bitterly, ''anyway, this whole story has left tons of scars on me. And they are ugly. I hate them. I don't want to show them to the world.''

''Oh, it's okay. I understand.'' Sakura nodded, ''Thanks for telling me, by the way. I'm glad you trust me enough to do so.''

''Of course, we're friends, aren't we?'' Karin shrugged.  
Sakura lit up at those words. For some reason, she would always get this reaction when somebody called her their friend.

''Still... It must have been hard.''

''Nah,'' Karin shrugged, ''That's just the way the cookie crumbles. It made me who I am now. The thing is, I can't change it anymore, so why'd I keep whining about it? I might as well have fun.''

''Everyone can find happiness, if they just know where to look,'' Sakura mused absentmindedly, ''That's what my dad says, anyway.''

''Yeah, that's pretty true.'' Karin said, leaning back against the tree, ''I mean, I know I have the stamp 'selfish whore' marked on my forehead, but it's not like I mind.''

''You don't?''

"Nah. It's like the saying: 'Haters make me famous'.''

''I don't think that's a saying...'' Sakura muttered, taking a sip from the bottle of water she had gotten from one of the school's vending machines earlier that day.

''It isn't? I guess I just heard it somewhere else then. Forget it. Anyhow, Ino might try to break me by talking crap behind my back and telling me I'm ugly and fat and whatever... But she forgets one thing.''

''What?''

''...That calling me ugly won't makeherany prettier.'' Karin grinned. Sakura chuckled softly.

The bell rang. It pierced right through the laughter and chattering of the students, announcing the start of yet another boring period.

Karin stood up with a groan, supporting herself with the oak tree. She was wearing some really high heels today, Sakura noticed when she looked at the senior's feet. They must ache like hell.

''What period d'you you have now?''

''-Eh? Oh, chemistry.''

''I've got maths.'' Karin mumbled, ''That's on the other side of the building... Well, I'll see you around!'' She said, before turning around and marching off in the direction of the school's back door.

* * *

The last periods passed in a blur, and it felt like it had only taken a few minutes for the hour-hand to crawl from the 'twelve' to the 'three'.

Not expecting the class to be over so soon, Sakura gasped audibly when the bell rang. Luckily for her, the other students were too caught up in their chattering to hear it.

The pinkette sighed and gathered her books. She put them in her bag and stood up from the chair she had been sitting on. She looked up, only to look straight into the face of Naruto. She let out a yelp and backed away, only to immediately run into the wall.

''Geez, I'm not that scary,'' Naruto muttered, crossing his arms.

''Sorry,'' Sakura said, regaining her composure and pushing herself away from the wall, ''I didn't mean to get frightened.''

Naruto arched an eyebrow at her.

''What?'' She asked him.

''You apologise too much,'' he said simply.

''Yeah, sorry,'' Sakura muttered, before realising what she just said and quickly continuing, ''-is an often used word in the English language.''

''...I stopped listening to you at the word 'an'.'' Naruto replied dryly.

''Oh shut up,'' Sakura chuckled, playfully wacking him on the head with the book she was holding.

''Ouch!'' Naruto whined teasingly, causing Sakura to giggle. He ran a hand through his sunshine blond spikes, ''What are you doing after school?''

''After school?'' Sakura asked, ''But it's a Monday! We have homework!''

''So? I never do my homework,'' Naruto muttered.

Sakura decided to ignore that comment and gulped, ''Okay, then... What do you want to do?''

''Dunno. We could go to your place, you said you wanted to show me your garden?''

''My garden?'' Sakura repeated dumbly, ''-Sure!''

''Okay then,'' Naruto jumped off of the table he had been sitting on and pulled the pink haired girl with him. They were the only students left in the classroom, and the teacher was standing in the doorway, tapping his shoe on the linoleum impatiently. He was waiting for the two teens to come out of the room so he could lock the door.

* * *

Naruto shoved his way through a swarm of freshmen, Sakura following him shortly. She did her best not to push anyone herself. Although Konoha high school was the biggest school in Konoha, it was still very crowded. A few years ago, the hallways had been rebuild in an attempt to make them broader, but it hadn't had the desired effect. The school was still too small to hold the mass of students walking the halls every time a bell rang.

Normally, Sakura stayed in her classrooms a few minutes longer, so that the biggest part of the students had already left, but it was different now that Naruto was with her. For one thing; he was much more impatient than she was. For another; he was taller than her, resulting in him being able to shove aside the other students, even though sometimes even freshmen were able to knock Sakura over.

When the blond and the pinkette arrived at the bicycle stands -surprisingly quickly, I might add- Sakura ran a hand through the hair she had not pinned up -she had secured her bangs onto the top of her head with a bobby pin today, making the rest fall loosely on her shoulders- before she asked, ''Can I ride with you today?''

Naruto cast her a glance over his shoulder, ''Why not? What happened to your bicycle, anyway?''  
''Thanks,'' She said, ''One time, after school, when I walked over to my bicycle, I noticed it had been destroyed,'' Sakura shrugged, ''The cycle repairer said it was too battered. He couldn't fix it.''

Naruto kept quiet. It had been a few seniors who broke the girl's bike. He knew them, he hung out with them at times. In fact, when the seniors told the blond what they had done, he had laughed with them.

...But he wasn't telling her that.

''Oh, that sucks.''

''Yeah.''

''Are you getting on?'' Naruto asked her impatiently. He had been sitting on his scooter from the start of their conversation.

Sakura took a step in his direction, planning on climbing on the scooter behind the blond, but she stopped when he looked her way. His eyes widened, as if he suddenly remembered something.

''Wait,'' he said, ''didn't you want to drive my scooter?''

''Yes!'' Sakura said.

''Okay, then.'' Naruto got off his scooter and gestured for Sakura to sit down. The pinkette turned her head away from him and climbed up. If she had looked his way, she would have noticed Naruto had turned one of the corners of his mouth upwards in a smirk.

''Ok, so how do I do this?'' Sakura called out over her shoulder.

Naruto bridged the feet between him and his scooter and sat down behind Sakura, ''I'll teach you.''

Sakura nodded stiffly.

''Here,'' Naruto said. He took her hand and placed it on the handle-bar. ''Do you see a button on the right?''

''-Er... yes,'' Sakura stuttered. Naruto was too close, it made her feel dizzy.

''Push it.''

Sakura heaved one trembling finger up and pressed the button.

''Now grab the right handle. Can you feel it is rotatable?''

Sakura nodded, now red in the face.

Naruto smirked. He could see the girl was getting red spots in her neck; a sign she was flustered.

''Okay,'' he continued, pretending not to notice anything, ''turn it.''

And she did. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, expecting to go flying across the school yard.

Nothing like that happened, though. She hadn't turned the handle that much, so the two teens didn't move more than a few feet.

This didn't stop Sakura's yelping, though.

''Relax!'' Naruto chuckled, ''We aren't even going fast, you idiot.''

''We could have! Who the hell lets some girl ride his scooter? The only thing I ever rode before was a rocking horse!'' Sakura snapped, too startled to think about manners.

''Don't worry so much. I'm here, aren't I?'' He asked her rethorically. Sakura gulped. His warm breath sent shivers down her spine.

''O-okay,'' She stuttered, ''Just in case, where are the brakes?''

''On the right side of the handle bare there is a handle that operates the front brake. There is a pedal near your right foot that operates the rear brake. You found it?''

''-Er... I think so...'' Sakura muttered uncertainly, searching the scooter for the fore mentioned things, ''-Yes, found them!''

''Okay. Then do you think you can get us to your house safely?''

''No.''

''That's the spirit. Good luck!'' He said, smiling. He pushed down Sakura's hand slightly, so that they started moving.

''NOOO!'' The pinkette yelled, waving her other arm around frantically.

Naruto didn't let go, though, not even when she tried to wiggle her hand out of his grasp. They moved faster and faster, until they almost arrived at the u-turn that had to be taken before one could leave the school yard.

''Okay. Now you turn, alright?'' He mused, ''If you don't, we'll die.''

Sakura's jaw dropped. What was this, attempted suicide?

''I'm serious, you have to turn,'' Naruto said in a surprisingly calm tone of voice when the u-turn came closer and closer.

''How?'' Sakura screeched, ready to pull her hair out. And still, the u-turn approached.

''You know how to cycle, don't you?''

''No, me cycling to school ever since first grade was an optical illusion. Actually I was flying.''

''Was that sarcastic?''

''No shit!''

Naruto almost chuckled. It was funny how, the more Sakura panicked, the less she focused on being polite.

''Seriously, Naruto! Help me!'' She yelled.

''just steer to the left if you want to go to the left.'' the blond replied in a 'duh' tone of voice.

Sakura frantically turned the handle-bar to the left in a swift motion, causing the two teens to turn around the corner just in time.

''I did it...'' Sakura whispered, ''I did it!'' she yelled then, beaming. She started to giggle giddily.

Naruto wanted to tell her all she had done was steer them, but kept quiet when he noticed how happy she was. He shook his head, smiling. This girl was such a dork.

''Naruto!'' She turned her head to face him and Naruto noticed her cheeks were tinted pink in excitement. Also, there was a glint in her eyes that he hadn't seen in a long while, ''Did you see what I did?''

''Yeah, you saved our lives. Well done,'' He rolled his eyes, chuckling.

He didn't know if she hadn't noticed him rolling his eyes at her or just didn't care, but she chirped, ''I know!'' and laughed out loud.

''Keep your eyes on the road, woman!'' He called out when they started swinging to and from on the asphalt. He grabbed her head with his hands and whipped it back to the street.

''Right, sorry!'' She called out, without looking at him this time.

Naruto looked over her shoulder and noticed that they weren't going to the centre of town. Had she moved since elementary school? He could remember she had a house above a book shop close to the mall back then.

''Hey, Sakura!'' He yelled, ''Did you move?''

''-Er... To a new house, you mean? Yes, a few years ago!'' Sakura shouted back. She had gotten home from school one day, to find all her stuff had been packed into carton boxes. Her parents had hugged her tightly and laughed at her stunned expression. Her mom had then announced the fact that her father had gotten a promotion, giving him a soft peck on the cheek. Sakura had forced a smile and told them she had to go upstairs because she needed something from her room. In truth, she wanted to wash the spit wads out of her hair that Naruto had shot at her earlier that day. Back then, she had the misfortune of sitting on the seat in front of his during History class.

Sakura's expression darkened at the memory.

She almost lost control of the scooter when something was pushed on her head. She made a weird, gargling sound when the view she had on the asphalt of the road, the grey buildings and the azure sky faded into black. Her vision reappeared in a matter of moments, though.

The teenage girl traced the object on her head with her fingers frantically. It was a helmet.

''Couldn't you have given me that before I risked my life on this thing?'' Sakura snarled, her voice muffled by the helmet.

''Can't hear you!'' Naruto yelled, not succeeding in masking the teasing tone in his voice.

Sakura didn't reply to this. She just mumbled something unintelligible and narrowed her eyes.

Both of the teens spent the rest of the drive _almost _crashing into buses, cars, stores, traffic signs and fences -but miraculously dodging them just in time. Luckily, they arrived at Sakura's house safely.

They rode up the access road and said girl jumped off of the scooter as quickly as she could, just in time stopping herself from letting herself fall on her knees and kissing the ground.

''I'm not letting you ride my back again anytime soon,'' Naruto mused, innocently taking the helmet from Sakura's head and wiping it clean from any amount of dirt that had landed on it during their drive. Soon, the shiny, black metal and the painted flames were visible again.

''Like I'd want to!'' Sakura said, dramatically gasping for air.

''I hate to say it-...'' The blond smirked, referring to the fact that she really _had_ wanted to ride his scooter.

''-Then don't!'' Sakura snapped. Then, her eyes widened and she clasped her hands over her mouth, ''Oh my gosh, I sound like a bitch!''

''You have been talking like that for the past half an hour,'' Naruto said, shrugging. He supported himself on the saddle and leaned forward, bringing his face close to hers, ''I don't mind. I like when you talk like that.''

Inwardly, he chuckled when Sakura's face flushed red for the umpteenth time that day.

He was just messing with her, though. And so he leaned back, afraid she would explode if he was too close to her for too long.

Sakura turned her face away from him, twisting her hair around her finger awkwardly, ''L-let's go inside,'' she muttered then. The girl walked up the stone steps leading from the access road to her front door, but waited for her guest in the doorway. Naruto calmly locked his scooter and secured it to a lamp pole close to Sakura's house.

He hadn't really taken a look at the house until that moment. It was relatively big. Not very expensive looking, but cheerful nonetheless. The bricks were a soft yellow -something that wasn't very common in Konoha, most buildings were grey or brown- and there were many windows, all with soft orange shutters in front of them. The side of the house was covered by roses that curled up the walls. It had a flat roof. In front of the wooden door were colourful mosaic stone steps leading to either side of it. Flowers that Naruto couldn't name were showing off their colours in front of those small stairs.

''Nice house,'' He complimented when he finally reached Sakura.

''Thanks,'' She said, smiling.

* * *

A few minutes later, they were sitting around a small table in the sunny garden, surrounded by flowers, plants and the sounds of animals. They were each sipping from a glass of ice tea, looking around peacefully.

''So,'' Naruto started, ''answer this question truthfully-.''

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him.

''-Did you honestly do all this,'' he gestured to the lifely garden, ''by yourself?''

''Why would I lie about that?''

''I dunno. It just seems unlikely to me.''

''I didn't exactly have many friends to do stuff with, in case you didn't notice. I needed to spend my free time doing _something_.'' Sakura rested her face on her hand palm, scowling.

Naruto didn't know how to reply to this without sounding like a total asshole, so he didn't. He sipped from his ice tea and muttered, ''What I was trying to say... Your garden looks cool.''

When he saw the look on Sakura's face, he instantly knew he had said the right thing. Her scowl was replaced by a smile, ''Really?'' she chirped.

''Yeah,'' Naruto tried his best to smile as well, but he could feel he wasn't doing a good job. It looked more like some satanic grin.

''Want some more ice tea?'' Sakura asked him, not taking notice of his weird expression.

''Yeah, sure.''

''Okay then,'' The skinny girl stood up and walked towards the house, disappearing behind a big apple tree.

Naruto turned his face away from the tree and looked down at the bottom of his glass.

_''...I didn't exactly have many friends to do stuff with, in case you didn't notice...''_

The blond scratched the back of his head.

He knew he was supposed to break her, but why did he feel... _Sorry_ for her? It was all her fault, right? She had always been a bitch towards him. Wasn't it only natural that he acted like a jerk towards her?

He shook his head. He had every right not to be nice to her.

* * *

''_You are my sweetest downfall..._'' Sakura sang quietly, reaching up and opening a cupboard. She pulled out a glass jug and put it down on the worktop. ''_...I loved you first, I loved you first._''

The emerald eyed girl walked over to the refrigerator and seized a big carton of ice tea in her hands, ''_...Beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth..._'' She poured the carton's content into the jug and then walked back to the fridge to get some ice cubes. ''_...I have to go, I have to g_- Eep!''

The pinkette winced when, as she turned around, she saw Naruto standing in the doorway. He was leaning against the doorpost with crossed arms, face turned so he could see her.

''Naruto!'' She gasped, ''You scared me. Why are you here?''

''I went looking for the bathroom, but you might as well just tell me where it is. It'd save me some time.'' He grinned at her.

Sakura smiled, ''Second door to the right.''

''Thanks,'' Naruto said, his smile fading. He didn't move, so Sakura guessed he had something else to say. She waited patiently.

''Say, Sakura...'' He started.

''Yes?'' The pinkette turned her back to him and dropped some ice cubes in the jug.

''Have you ever gone out?''

''Sure!'' She said, confused, ''I do every morning.''

Naruto rolled his eyes, ''I don't mean it like that. I mean going out dancing, getting laid.''

She froze. ''-N-not really.''

''Would you wanna?''

She looked over her shoulder to measure his expression. It was casual, he wasn't looking at her.

''Sure,'' She said, turning back to the jug. ''Why?''

''I was thinking of going out on Friday night, care to join me?'' He asked her.

Sakura bit her lip.

''Ino and Sasuke aren't coming, just so you know.'' Naruto said, studying his hand palm.

The two of them had agreed not to come with Naruto for once. They had talked it all out during the lunch break; the blond would bring Sakura to Konoha Headlights, Konoha's most popular pub.

''-Oh, but... I wouldn't mind if Sasuke tagged along!'' Sakura said, twisting a strand of hair around her finger. Naruto looked at her questioningly and her face reddened.

''-No way,'' Naruto said slowly, ''You're crushing on him, aren't you?''

''No!'' Sakura shouted, but her pathetic objection was drowned out by Naruto's laughter.

''You're crushing on Sasuke!'' he mocked.

''No, that's not true!'' Sakura called out. But her cheeks betrayed her, growing even redder.

''I can't believe it! You have a crush on Sasuke Uchiha!'' He wiped away some happy tears and tried calming himself down.

''-Well... Maybe I do! So?'' Sakura crossed her arms and looked away angrily.

Naruto was done laughing, although he still wore a cheeky smile. ''But seriously, Sakura... Sasuke?''

''I'm not the only one that likes him, you know! A lot of girls do!'' Sakura defended herself.

''But he's way-...'' Naruto trailed off, but Sakura knew what he wanted to say.

_''-Way out of my league.''_ She finished in her head.

''Anyway, wanna come to Konoha Headlights with me this Friday night?''

''I can't dance,'' She lied.

Naruto arched an eyebrow at her, ''Yes you can! You took dancing lessons during elementary school.''

''-Er...''

''Are you scared?''

''No.''

''Then what's wrong?''

''It's just,'' Sakura muttered, ''I've never really, you know,'' She fiddled with the bottom of her skirt awkwardly, ''Drank alcohol.''

Naruto blinked a few times, but then said, ''You're ashamed of that? How troublesome,'' He ran a hand through his spikes, ''No one's forcing you to, you know.''

She leaned back against the stone worktop, glad he didn't think she was stupid. ''Okay!''

''I mean, I drank my first beer when I was fourteen, but that was my choice. If you want to drink one, though, it'll be on me.''

She looked at him questioningly.

''It's your first, dude! That needs to be something memorable.'' He explained, gesturing with his hands.

''Yeah, the great Naruto paying for my drink sure is a memorable thing,'' she mused.

The blond pouted, ''Hey, don't insult my greatness!''

''Oh, I think your greatness can handle that,'' Sakura joked, winking.

Naruto blinked, caught off guard by her wink. He quickly restored himself, though, and said, ''If that was a compliment, thanks.''

Sakura gave a soft laugh and lifted the jug up by it's grip. ''Let's go to the garden, the weather's too nice to be inside.''

The blond teenage boy shook his head and walked in the opposing direction, ''I'll be outside in a minute, I gotta go to the toilet, remember?''

''Good luck,'' Sakura mused.

* * *

As soon as Naruto had locked the bathroom door behind him, he fished his cell phone out of the pocket from his jeans and dialed Ino's number.

_''Ino's cell!'' _A voice chirped. In the background, chattering and honking could be heard. She must be in the centre of town, Naruto guessed.

''Hey, it's Naruto,'' the blond whispered, not sure if Sakura was still able to hear him.

_''Hello Naruto,'' _Ino replied, _''So, what's up? How're things going at Billboard Brow's?''_

''She wants to come to Konoha Headlights.''

_''Great! So, want me to take care of something?''_

''Nah, not really. Did you know she hasn't drunk alcohol yet?''

_''Really? How old is she now, seventeen?'' _Ino laughed.

''Sixteen,'' Naruto said, ''Hey, Ino, I gotta go. Sakura is waiting for me.''

_''Sure, buh-bye!''_

* * *

On a bright terrace in the centre of town, a platinum blonde haired girl lowered her violet coloured cell phone from her ear and snapped it shut.  
She turned it in her well manicured hands, deep in thought. During the phone call, she had noticed that her friend had stopped calling Sakura rude names.

Should she be concerned about her plan?

_'Nah.' _the blonde figured then. She looked around the table she was sitting on and studied the faces of the people she was with.

Her friends looked back at her.

''What did he say?'' Sasuke asked her.

''He convinced Sakura to go to Konoha Headlights with him!'' Ino laughed.

Nobody joined in with her laughter, though. Sasuke wasn't fond of this entire plan, neither was Hinata, whom's eyes weren't visible as they were hidden behind her raven fringe, Kiba was looking at the fore mentioned girl worriedly, Chouji was too focused on his drink, Shikamaru stared at the cars passing by, resting his chin on his hand palm and Neji was listening to his iPod. The bass of the song he was listening to was audible even from the opposite side of the table.

_'So she hasn't drunk alcohol yet...' _the blonde thought.

''So, what are you going to do?'' Sasuke asked her, checking his watch.

''Oh, I have something in mind,'' Ino mused, absentmindedly sipping on the straw of her drink. She looked up when an ash blonde waitress passed their table.

''Hey, Temari!''

The waitress turned around. Her eyes darted over to where Shikamaru sat for a second and then rested on Ino, ''Oh, hey.''

Ino curled her glossy lips up in a smile, ''You know people in Konoha Headlights, don't you?''

Temari tugged on one of her ponytails and placed a hand on her hip, ''Yeah, I do. Why?''

''I need you to do something for me.'' Ino stood up from her chair and walked into the café with Temari.

Kiba had put two straws in his nose, causing Hinata to giggle uncontrollably. The rest of the people around the table had just continued what they were doing before. Sasuke was the only one following Ino with his eyes, suspiciously.

* * *

**IMPORTANT: I'M GOING ON VACATION STARTING THIS SUNDAY, WHICH MEANS I'LL HAVE TO WRITE IN MY NOTEBOOK. EXPECT THE NEXT UPDATE TO BE UPLOADED LATER THAN NORMALLY.**

_...I will go to an internet café once or twice, and just imagine the happy look on my face when I read all your _**SWEET COMMENTS**_... ;D**  
**And YES. That was a hint._

_~Lion3queen_


	9. Troublesome

GAWD_ I can't believe I finally finished this chapter. XD I swear I wrote EVERYWHERE; in the car, alongside the pool, in the restaurant, on the camping, in the hotel... But finally, it's done!_

_To make up for the shortness of the last chapter, here's an extra long one! _

_I do hope the fact that I was tired from a certain point on isn't too noticable..._

**/EDIT: Thanks for InARealPickle for pointing out that, in America, it isn't legal to drink when you're underage. **  
**The reason for my unbelievably stupid mistake is that, in Holland, it is. From the moment you turn sixteen, it's legal for you to buy drinks like beer. Wodka and other drinks that hold a high percentage of Alcohol, though, you are unable to buy until you turn eighteen.  
Please try ignoring my stupidity for at least this chapter.**

**Please don't drink when you're underage, it is unhealthy and it prevents your brains from growing. Also, drinks holding Alcohol usually hold a lot of callories. **

_Enjoy!_

* * *

The days passed in a blur and before Sakura knew it, the Friday afternoon bell rang.

The pink haired girl rose from her chair, looking around groggily. Even though she was good at Math, she didn't like how it was always the same. It was even harder to concentrate because it was the last period before the start of the weekend, resulting in the students mainly being busy throwing paper planes at each other and passing notes.

''-Er, calm down, everyone!'' mr. Sarutobi stuttered in a futile attempt to gaining the teenagers' attention, ''Don't forget to do your homework, I wrote it down on the chalk board- Woah!'' The old man cried as he was pushed aside by the swarm of screaming, laughing students that squirmed their way through the classroom door.

It was a moment that would fit in one of those high school movies: A mass of lunatic teenagers, all yelling. Here and there were tests that had been thrown into the air and now whirled around people's heads, and a few football players -including Naruto Uzumaki- were tossing a football to each other, which only added to the weird scene Sakura witnessed from the back of the class. She was still standing next to her chair, waiting patiently for the classroom to be a bit more empty. She felt with the poor teacher, really. She could only imagine what it must be like to teach a class like hers.

Sakura looked at Naruto. He had stopped in his tracks just as he entered the doorway, earning him a few annoyed looks from the students behind him.

He locked eyes with the girl, and made a gesture she knew all too well. He held up his fist, brought his thumb to his ear and his pinky to his mouth. She nodded at him and took her cellphone out of her bag.

_'Incoming call from Naruto' _Sakura read on the tiny screen. When she looked up, she noticed that the forementioned boy had dissapeared from the doorway. The last students left the classroom, and Sakura quickly followed them.

She pressed the green button and brought the device to her ear.

''Hello,'' she spoke, careful not to get knocked aside by the students hurrying past her, shouting at each other.

_''Hey,'' _was the reply she got, _''I've got football practice now. Is it okay if I pick you up around eleven?''_

_'That late?'_ ''-Er, sure! See you then, and good luck with football practice!''

_''Thanks, bye!'' _In the background, Sakura could hear someone shouting something that sounded like, 'Uzumaki! Dude, catch!' and then a soft 'ow!' that was the unmistakable cry of her friend Naruto.

She smiled, snapped her cellphone shut and put it back in her bag. Maybe she could go and see one of his football matches some time.

It was a long walk to Sakura's house, especially since she took a different route from normally. Today, though, Sakura felt like taking the long route, all the way across the school grounds. This way she would pass the sport fields, so she could catch a glimpse of Naruto's training. She had never seen a game before, and wondered what it was like.

She cought sight of the field soon, and made out the football players -nothing more than a few stickmen from where Sakura stood- doing push-ups.

The pinkette thought of sitting down on the bleachers and waiting for the blond to be finished training, but changed her mind when she took notice of the other people using the field; the cheerleaders. They were currently balancing on top of each other, forming a pyramid of skinny, happy-go-lucky and skirt wearing girls. Of course, Ino stood on top of them, being the head cheerleader and all.

The blonde whistled and waved at the exercising guys enthusiastically, just like her fellow cheerleaders.

''Goooo everyone!'' Ino squealed with a gesture of her ponpons. She did a salto and landed gracefully on her feet, blowing the football players a kiss in the process.

The pinkette winced, supressing the urge to gasp in awe. The only time Sakura ever moved that elegant was in her dreams.

A guy Sakura didn't know straightened his back and stretched his muscles. Inwardly, Sakura gagged. The totally opposite reaction came from the cheerleaders, who all let out a high pitched yelp and started clapping their hands together.

The pinkette rolled her eyes. People like them were a disgrace of the female species.

Sighing, she spun on her heels, only to instantly bump into somebody.

''-Oomph! Er, sorry...'' she sputtered, taking a few steps back.

''Oh, Sakura!'' The person she had bumped into said, a smile audible in his speech, ''I thought I recognised you.'' A friendly laugh followed.

She immediately recognised the senior with his pale face, raven ponytail and delicate features.

''Hello, Itachi.'' She greeted him, her mood brightening instantly.

''Why are you still on the school grounds? Are you on your way to a club?'' He craned his neck so he caught sight of the field behind Sakura, ''-Or did you want to see the football training?''

''-Er, I... Ah-no!'' Sakura stuttered, tugging at her sidebangs, ''-I-I was just...''

''Don't feel obliged to answer,'' He laughed, ''I'm just nosy, is all.''

''Why are you here?'' Sakura cocked her head to the side, not entirely sure if he would answer her question if she didn't answer his. Luckily, he did.

''I was chosen vice president last year, remember?'' Itachi replied, ''I had some business to take care of.''

Yes, Sakura remembered the elections. It was hard to forget the festive that was made of it each year, really. The girl, though, ignored the elections as much as she could because, in the end, it was nothing more than a popularity contest.

Sakura looked at the enormous pile of paper and docments Itachi was holding.

''Important business?'' She questioned.

''Not really,'' the senior answered, ''To be honest, I can't wait until the elections begin again. I hope somebody will be chosen for vice president this time.'' he admitted, ''I think I'll be mean to everyone from now on, so I won't win again.'' this was a joke, obviously, ''Last year I didn't even nominate myself.''

Sakura giggled.

''I think I'll bring this pile of unimportant things to the head master, and then watch the last part of my little brother's football practice. I need to give him a ride home today.'' He shifted the weight of the pile of paper in his hands, ''I admit the game doesn't interest me in the least. Care to join me?''

Sakura shook her head in response, ''I'm sorry. I was on my way to my house.''

''That's okay, have a nice weekend,'' He shrugged.

''You too!'' She called after him as he turned around and made his way over to the school building.

Sakura stared after him. She didn't undestand why a person like him would be so kind to her. The pinkette was used to people looking down on her and treating her like crap, but lately nice people seemed to pop up from everywhere!

Her eyes trailed back to the field. The football team was doing some exercising, using many wooden slats that were placed next to each other in a long row all the way down the field. They were meant to jump from one to the other, and were busy doing so.

The chearleaders had lined up alongside the field and didn't bother to keep their voices down.

''~Come ooon, Neji!'' A girl Sakura recognised as Karui cheered, waving her ponpons around happily. A bit too happily, I might add, for she ended up hitting the girl standing next to her on the nose.

Sakura snickered to herself. She looked up at the sky. It was bright blue, not a single cloud drifting about in it. The sun shone and the weather was still warm. Sakura didn't feel the breeze, but the bending of the poplars planted alongside the path revealed the fact that the wind was definitely blowing.

It was half past four pm, she noticed when she took a glance at the clock hanging from the main school building. She sighed deeply and decided she should leave the school now if she wanted to be home before six o'clock. The school grounds were very big you see, and even when one reached the gates all the way at the back, that person would still have to walk about three quater an hour until they reached Sakura's house. And that was if the person walked in a quick pace.

Sakura made it home a few minutes before six. She kicked her shoes off, not wanting to dirty the caper, and entered the kitchen. Humming, the girl walked up to one of the cabinets and pulled out a carton tht held chocolate chip cookies. She took one out and took a bite. She munched away on it eagerly, a satisfied grin visible on her features.

Lately, she had been eating a lot more. It wasn't like she minded, though. She was getting a bit more curvy. Finally.  
The teenager looked away from the window she had been gazing out of absentmindedly when a soft 'mew!' sounded form somewhere around her feet, only to immediately lock eyes with her white cat.

''Hello there, Primrose,'' she smiled, reaching down to pet it's soft fur, ''I'm guessing you'd like some dinner?''

The cat didn't answer, of course.

''I'll take that as a 'yes','' Sakura joked. She straightened her back and pulled the bag of cat food out of one of the cupboards. The cat was already waiting for her next to the food bowl when she walked over to it and bent down. She took a few steps back and looked down on the animal, happily munching away on it's food.

It was so tame and happy, totally opposite from when Sakura had first seen her.

_A thirteen year old Sakura hurried home through the october rain that crashed down on Konoha. She had hung out at Ino's when it started pouring all of a sudden. When she had wanted to cycle home, she had discovered she had a flat tire. Luckily, the pinkette could borrow a trenchcoat from Ino; they had the same size._

_Sakura slowed down for a moment when she almost toppled over because of a damp box lying in a puddle. She regained her balance by waving her arms around, just in time stopping her feet from being swept away from underneath her._

_Lately, Sakura noticed Ino seemed to get a bit hostile towards her, but she didn't think much of it. After all, they were getting adolescents. Although it was strange that her best friend seemed to only be like this towards Sakura, and not towards others. Also, she had become closer to that whiskered freak lately. That Naruto Uzumaki!_

_Sakura pouted angrily. Even his name made her furious. What with him always bothering her and never leaving her alone. He was undoubtedly just trying to get on her nerves. And he was succeeding._

_Again, Sakura almost slipped and tried regaining her balance. This time, though, she was less lucky and she lost her footing. She crashed down on the wet pavement, scraping her knees in the process. She remained lying there for a few moments, until she lifted her head up and rubbed her nose. She looked around. There were still people walking here and there, each carrying an umbrella, but nobody stopped to help the poor girl. The sky was dark with clouds and the lanterns were already lit. Each house was decorated with small pumpkins and ghosts, for it was Halloween in just a few days. Sakura was looking forward to it like each year. This year, Ino and her had wanted to dress up as black cats together but Ino had just told her she thought it would be a better idea if they each dressed up differently. To the question on why she had changed her mind, the blonde hadn't answered._

_Sakura muttered something inaudible through clattering teeth, replaced the hood of the trenchcoat she was wearing on her head and tried getting up. She flinched, though, when a flash of pain cut through her scraped knees. She looked down and noticed that the wounds looked pretty serious, even though most of the blood was washed away by the rain. A flash of lightning cut through the cloudy sky, enlighting the dark city with an intense, white glow. A roar of thunder followed._

_Quickly, another bolt of silver lightning pierced the clouds. Sakura averted her eyes. Even though she hated to admit it, thunder had scared her for as long as she remembered. _

_She noticed she was standing next to an alleyway. It's darkness stood out among the dark grey of the walls and the reflections of the traffic lights and street lanterns on the damp pavement. A car drove past her, driving through a puddle and splashing it's content in Sakura's direction. She yelped softly and jumped into the alley, trying to avoid getting even more soaked._

_Once again, a bolt of lightning zigzagged above town, enlighting the alley. Sakura flinched and looked around in the small street, suddenly finding it's consuming darkness more pleasant than it's enlit appearance. _

_She tilted her head to the right when something white lying beside a box gained her attention. It appeared to be a ball of some sort and was splattered with dirt._

_Indecisive, she took a step in the direction of the ball. And another. And another. And another. And-..._

_It moved._

_Sakura put her hand over her mouth in alarm._

_It moved!_

_She hurried over to the thing and let herself fall to her wounded knees. _

_The thing was a cat. _

_It didn't look good, that was for sure. It was curled up into a ball. It's mouth hung slightly open, revealing some fangs. It's eyes were closed and in it's fur hung chunks of soil. One of the cat's paws was held out in front of it almost defensively._

_Sakura didn't think twice. She gathered the cat up in her arms, jumped to her feet and hurried home._

_When she arrived at her house panting after about fifteen minutes of non-stop running, her mother opened the door immediately. She wore some flower patterned oven gloves on her hands and a red apron, so Sakura asumed she had been preparing dinner._

_''Sakura, honey? Did you walk all the way home from Ino's? Where's your bike-'' The red haired woman questioned, wonder written all over her freckled face. Then, her gaze fell on the animal in her daughter's arms, ''-Oh my goodness! Is that a cat, sweetheart?''_

_Sakura could only nod. She flew up the stone steps and brushed past her mother. The woman closed the door behind her._

_''I found it down in town. It wasn't wearing a collar and it looked sick, so I thought I should just take it with me.'' Sakura explained._

_''You did the right thing, dear.'' The woman said, ''I'm going to find something we can wrap it up in. The poor thing must be freezing.'' With that said, she rushed up the stairs, leaving Sakura to gape around dumbly. ''Go to the living room, sweetie! I'll be back in a minute!'' She heard her mother yell from upstairs. Sakura obeyed._

An annoying feeling in her throat woke Sakura up from the memory; she was thirsty.

She cast the place where the cat had been sitting just minutes ago a glance. It was empty, just like the food bowl.

Sakura sighed and turned to the sink. She grabbed a glass that stood on one of the shelves and held it underneath the tap. She twisted the knob, resulting in a stream of water pouring down in the glass. Sakura twisted the knob once more and shut the water off.

She brought the glass to her mouth and took a sip.

Her mother had called the vet, and after a whole lot of commotion, they had gotten some medicine for the animal and the advise to give it to her each day plus to care for the cat until it was healthy again. Then, they could decide wether they wanted to keep it or not. Obviously, the former had been the case.

Sakura was the one who thought up Primrose's name. She had wanted to keep the flower tradition that the family had alive. Her grand grandmother was called Violet, her grandmother Daisy, her mother Lily, as you know, and Sakura's name meant 'cherry blossom'.  
The pinkette leaned back against the refridgerator, her mind drifting off to later that evening, when she would go to Konoha Headlights with Naruto. She didn't really know what to expect. Would it be how it was in series on MTV; cheerful, crowded and fun? Or... maybe how it was in chickflicks; dramatic and dangerous?

The teenage girl bit her lip. What should she wear?

She put her glass sown next to the sink and went upstairs.

About a half an hour later she came down again, clad in a classy, tunic-like, cherry red top with a v-neck and thin straps that were tied in a loose ribbon behind her neck. The top captured her slim waist perfectly and stopped just down her hips. Around her legs she wore a white skirt and on her feet a pair of red wedges with ribbons on them.

Sakura wasn't really sure about the skirt, for it was really short.

_'Nah,'_ she contradited, _'It's not like anybody is going to notice.'_

She pulled open the door that led to the basement and searched for the light switch. When her hand finally found something too smoothe to be the stone wall, she switched on the lights and walked down the old, creaking steps.

The basement was a place Sakura hated. It was dark and dusty there, and when it rained for too long -which wasn't very unusual in Konoha- it tended to flood. The pinkette dreaded the approaching fall, when the rain would fall down almost daily. She didn't even want to think of all the time it would take to tidy everything up.

Sakura opened the freezer and scanned it for anything that wouldn't take too long to prepare. She found a pizza.

The girl grabbed it and hopped up the stairs, two steps at a time. She didn't want to be in the basement for one more minute.

She shuddered to herself as she closed the cracking door behind her.

Oh how she hated dark rooms. She didn't like going up in the attic either. It still worked with one of those old mechanisms that required one to pull a rope attached to the ceiling, so a shutter opened above their heads an a ladder came sliding down.

Back when she was five years old, she hadn't known what the rope did. Of course, like every five year old, she pulled it. This action, of course, had caused the ladder to come down and, unfortunately, hit the small girl on the head. She had fainted on the spot.

Her mom had found her about ten minutes later when she had finished grocery shopping, and nearly had a heart attack.

Now, eleven years later, Sakura still quickened her pace when she passed the shutter, just in case it would magically come sliding down.

She smiled slightly at her own stupidity and entered the kitchen. She put the carton box holding the pizza down on the worktop and walked into the living room. She still had about four hours left before Naruto would come to pick her up.

Letting out a long sigh, she plopped down on the couch and switched on the television using the remote.

_''-I mean like, who needs men in this society?'' _A woman on the television shouted into her microphone. Sakura's eyebrows knitted together when the audience erupted in loud applause and cheering. _''Say it, sisters-!''_

She zapped.

_''-Because nowadays nobody can live without a good microwave-''_

Click.

_''-And the yankees get a homerun! A homerun, people-''_

Click.

_''-If you want to make really good tomato soup, always remember to-''_

Click.

_''-new song from Lil' Wayne! Y'all probably already heard it bu-''_

With a groan, Sakura switched the television off and let herself fall back first against the soft cushions. Nothing interesting was on.

* * *

About an hour before said girl dressed herself for the party she would go to later that evening, a blond boy finished his football practice, panting from exhaustion.

''Well done, Naruto!'' one of the cheerleaders sang. He didn't bother checking who it was, being too focussed on the coach jogging his way.

The blond took off his helmet.

''You're becoming better and better, Naruto!'' Coach Gai complimented, flashing his thumb at the teenage boy in front of him. ''Go on like this, and I might just make you the new quaterback.''

Coach Gai sure was an odd figure, with his raven bowl cut, bushy eyebrows and the spandex suits he seemed to be wearing all year long. Yet, the whole football team respected him.

''Thanks, coach!'' Naruto smirked, wiping the sweat away from his forehead with the back of his hand. He then followed his teammates to the dressing rooms.

The first thing he did when he entered the white tiled room and walked over to the part of the long, wooden bench where he had dropped his bag before training was searching he forementioned object for the bottle of water he had brought and taking a long sip from it. He sighed, letting the refreshening drink stream down his throat, releashing it from the sore, burning feeling the training had left it with. Eagerly, he took another long sip from the bottle.

''Thirsty?'' Sasuke questioned drily. Naruto suspected the question was rhetorical, but answered it nonetheless.

''Yeah. Is it that obvious?''

His best friend shrugged. The raven haired teen took a towel out of his own bag and dabbed his forehead with it. Like Naruto, he still wore his football uniform.

A roar of laughter erupted from somewhere in the dressing room, causing both of the teenagers to look up in wonder. One with an eyebrow raised in annoyance and tthe other with an amused smirk plastered on his face. This smirk, though, disappeared when a group of guys came running past them, chasing each other with a towel. To their teammates' horror, the were butt naked.

Naruto directed his attention on his once more, ''...Idiots.''

When he looked at Sasuke, the raven haired boy was fully clad in his casual clothes again.  
The speed of that guy never ceased to amaze Naruto.

''I'm going,'' Sasuke announced, ''I spotted Itachi on the bleachers. Knowing him, he'll be cranky if I don't hurry up.''

''Sure,'' Naruto said, ''Is he going to give you a ride again?''

''He doesn't have a choice, now does he?'' Sasuke muttered, ''My parents still think joyriders crushed into the fence with my car, breaking it in the process.'' He sent his blond friend a glare at the word 'joyriders'.

''You should have told me which one of the pedals was the brake,'' Naruto defended himself, smiling, ''Besides, it was pretty funny.''

Sasuke couldn't help but smile himself. It _had_ been pretty funny. He gave his best friend a small wave before exiting the dressing room.

Naruto didn't move. He stared at the doorway behind which, he knew, were the showers.

_'Should I take a shower here?'_

His thoughts were interrupted roughly when another group of naked, laughing teenage boys came running past him, holding towels in their outstretched hands.

naruto sweatdropped, took his shirt out of his bag and pulled it over his bare chest.

Nope, he'd take a shower at his house.

He changed into his jeans and sneakers and trudged out of the dressing room with his bag slung casually over his shoulder.

''Bye y'all!'' he called out to his teammates. A few of them grinned, waved or answered. The rest was too caught up in whatever they were doing.

Naruto continued on his way, not really caring.

* * *

The bleachers were now empty aside from a few chattering students enjoying the afternoon sun. The field was deserted.

Naruto cut across the patch of grass surrounding the football field, ignoring the dirty look given by the garderer that was crouching beside one of the flowerbeds. He had to admit the man was pretty intimidating nonetheless, with the hedgeshear clutched in his hand like a deadly weapon.

Anxiously, the teen quickened his pace and walked the asphalt until he reached the parking lot.

There, he got his scooter and drove to his appartment.

When he steered his scooter up the sidewalk, he barely missed an old lady with a rollator walker. He gulped when she heaved it from the ground and tried hitting him with it. _''You rotten kid!''_ the lady mouthed.

Naruto guessed she did more than only mouthing it, but the helmet he wore made it impossible for him to hear anything.

''Woops, can't hear you!'' He yelled over his shoulder, ''Sorry, mrs Jones!''

Mrs Jones shook her fist at him angrily but continued on her way. As did Naruto.

* * *

When Naruto entered his appartment, he threw his jacket in the direction of the hatstand. He didn't check to see if he hit it.

The blond walked over to a wooden closet and hit the 'play'-button from the cd player that stood upon it. Immediately, one of his favourite songs started playing.

He bobbed his head to the beat and walked over to his bathroom.

About ten minutes later he exited the room again, hair dripping and a towel wrapped around his waist. **(1)**

He entered his own room and threw on some clothes. Then he walked back to the living room and looked around. His eyes trailed to the clock.

It was half past six.

He would meet his friends Shino, Kiba and Shikamaru downtown in ten minutes, to hang out and maybe grab some smoothies. If he wanted to be on time, he'd have to leave now.

* * *

_'Ring!'_

Sakura let out a groan.

_'Riiing!'_

''...Yeah, yeah... Coming...''

She rolled around and sat up. She rubbed her green eyes and looked around.

She had fallen asleep on the couch.

_'Riiiiiiiing!'_

''Coming!'' The pinkette repeated, louder this time.

She stood up and walked over to the hallway, almost tripping over the couch in the process. When she opened the door, her gaze was met by Naruto Uzumaki.

''Hey there,'' He greeted with a smile. He gave the girl standing in front of him a casual wave.

''Hell-'' Sakura stopped talking and yawned audibly. He raised an eyebrow at her. ''Sorry,'' she apologised, smiling sheepishly, ''I fell asleep on the couch. What time is it?''

''It was ten to eleven pm when I left town,'' Naruto answered, looking up at the already dark sky. Sakura took this as an opportunity to scan the boy's appearance.

What he wore was not very different from his usual clothes: A black, short sleeved t-shirt, jeans and a pair of sneakers. His hair was spiked like usually. Casual, quite boring clothes. For some reason, though, Naruto managed to pull it off looking very handsome in them.

Sakura mentally scolded herself for thinking like that.

Exactly at that moment, the boy decided to look back at her. Their gazes met. ''What?'' He asked her, a lopsided grin plastered on his face.

''Nothing!'' She answered a bit too quickly and a bit too loudly. He flinched at her sudden outburst. ''I need to go to the bathroom, I'll be back in two minutes!''

Sakura slammed the door shut.

She spun on her heels and jogged towards the mirror hanging in the hallway. Luckily, her make-up still looked good. Her hair was a whole different story. Her bangs stuck out awkwardly to the front and some other locks stood out to the right, indicating the fact she had slept on her right side.

Sakura opened a drawer from the cabinet underneath the mirror and frantically searched it for anything of use. She found a red hair clip. She swifly took the bangs that ended just above her eyebrows and secured them to the side of her head with the clip. Then, she ran over to the kitchen, wet her hair with water from the sink, dashed back towards the mirror, grabbed a hairbrush from the drawer and brushed her hair down.

Sakura arrived at the door and opened it with a swift swing of her slim arms, startling the boy waiting for her. ''Let's go,'' she panted. Then, the girl brushed past him, stumbled down the steps in front of the house and sat down on the back of the saddle of the bright orange scooter.

Naruto stared after her. Why had she become so awkward with him all of a sudden?

He shrugged it off and followed her.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, the vehicle halted in front of a tall building. A large crowd of people stood in front of it, as were big, moving spotlights that shone upon the stone building and illuminated the enormous letters forming the name 'Konoha Headlights'. The muffled sounds of music and thumping of the bass came drifting out through the red, hollywood-like doors.

''Wow,'' Sakura gasped, ''This building is incredible!''

''Yeah, and this is only the outside!'' Naruto said, smiling at the girl's enthusiasm.

''Come on, Naruto! Hurry up!'' Sakura yelled, knocking the blond 'softly' on the shoulder with her fist.

Naruto tried not to wince as she punched him. Her strength surprised him over and over again. ''Yeah, yeah,'' he muttered through clenched teeth. ''I'm trying to lock my scooter up over here!'' But she didn't hear him. Her eyes were glued on the massive building again.

Naruto huffed softly and straightened his back, only to have Sakura close her fists around his arm and pulling him with her, towards the start of the line. He yanked his arm loose. Sakura spun on her heels and placed one pale hand on her hip.

''Aren't you coming?'' She asked him.

''Go without me, I'll come in a few minutes.''

''Why? What are you going to do?''

''I'll see if I can arrange something over there.'' He pointed over to the doors with a jab of his thumb. A small of group pushed the doors open and Sakura caught a glimpse of a dark room with many coloured lights stroking the walls and the floor. Silhouettes of dancing, drinking people blocked her view on the rest of the club.

The pinkette nodded and walked over to the back of the line.

Naruto turned around and looked at her over his shoulder.

Sakura looked good tonight. Beautiful, even. He'd never noticed how long her legs were, or how graceful her stride was.

Naruto forced himself to focus on the doors. He had _not_ just been oggling Sakura Haruno.

He quickly turned his head back to face the two tall men standing on each side of the door. One of them had a goatie, and the other one had tied a bandana around his head. All in all they looked pretty intimidating. Two girls stood in front of the men, jumping up and down happily. A third one seemed to be flirting with the two males, flicking her hair and batting her eyelashes. The men quickly gave in and opened the door for them, to wich the girls squealed and hugged their friend. They skipped inside.

Naruto walked over to them and quickly recognised one of the two persons. It was a friend of Jiraiya's.

''Hey, Mike!'' He called out to him. The man with the goatie turned around, and one of the corners of his mouth turned upwards.

''Naruto!'' He greeted the teenage boy, ''I haven't seen you in ages! How are you?''

''I'm fine, man,'' Naruto replied, ''Have you beaten the pervy old man during poker lately?''

''Of course!'' Mike said as if Naruto could have guessed it. A roar of laughter followed. ''I'm not giving Jiraiya the pleasure of winning against me!'' He ruffled the boy's blond spikes.

Naruto smirked up at the tall man. ''Hey, listen, Mike, I'm here with a friend-''

''-Your girlfriend?''

_'Why does everybody think that?' _''No, just a friend. Anyhow, I'm here with her, and I the line's kinda long... Could you, maybe, let us in?''

Mike looked at his colleague. The man with the bandana nodded.

''Sure,'' Mike turned to Naruto, smiling, ''Go get your girlfriend.''

''She's _not_ my girlfriend!'' Naruto replied, annoyed. The man didn't hear him, though, he was busy talking to the next people in line.

Naruto huffed and followed the line of people until he spotted Sakura. She wasn't standing all the way at the back anymore, new people had joined the line.

_'Huh?'_ Naruto started walking in her direction until he had a clear view of the skinny, pink haired girl. Were his eyes deceiving him or- No. There really were two guys talking to her. And judging from their expressions and the way they stood, they appeared to be flirting with her.

Naruto quickened his pace until he reached the trio. The two boys looked up at him with snippy curiosity, until Naruto wrapped his arm around Sakura's shoulders and pulled her with him. ''Are you coming, _darling?_'' He asked her, looking at the teenagers she had been talking to with narrowed eyes. The males immediately got the message, winced at the blond's dark glare and turned around stiffly.

Sakura looked up at him with confusion in her eyes, ''-Er, what?'' But when she noticed he was taking her away, she turned her head to look over her shoulder and waved, ''Bye Jason, Carl! Maybe I'll see you again sometime!''

She turned to Naruto when they couldn't be heard by the two boys anymore.

''What was that about?''

''I don't trust those guys.''

''Why? They were so nice! They wanted to hang out with me.'' Sakura smiled up at the blond.

Naruto shot her an awkward glance. ''You _do_ know they were hitting on you, right?''

''What? Don't be weird.'' Sakura shook her head at him dismissingly, smiling. Her smile quickly faded as she overthought his words. ''-W-wait,'' she muttered slowly, ''They _were_ hitting on me, weren't they?''

Naruto nodded as if to say ''Duh.''

Sakura cast Jason and Carl a look over her shoulder. She had never been flirted with before. It wasn't strange she didn't recognise their overly friendly manners. In a way, she was flattered. ''Where are we going?''

''We're going straight inside.'' They reached the two men at the doors who guided them inside. Naruto smirked at the jealous looks the people waiting in line gave them. ''Thanks, Mike.''

''Say hi to Jiraiya for me, alright?'' The man asked Naruto with a smile.

''Sure,'' The boy replied, ''Bye!''

After the two men closed the doors behind the teenagers, Mike leaned in towards his companion.

''Naruto's got himself a pretty girl, eh?''

* * *

When Sakura entered the club, she immediately plugged her ears with her index fingers, trying to block out the incredibly loud music.

Naruto grabbed her hands, though, and moved them back to her sides.

''Come on, Sakura! The music is what makes everything so much fun!'' He yelled into her ear.

She looked up at him and shouted, ''But it hurts my ears!''

''It's just something you'll get used to!'' He assured her, ''Come on!'' He gestured towards the enormous crowd of people and pulled her with him. Ducking and squirming her way through the mass of people, she looked around in the enormous room.

The walls and the floor appeared to be painted black. In the ceiling, many small lamps were placed every few inches, making it look like an image of the nightsky. Spotlights painted the walls and the upper side of the people in cheerful, bright colours.

A boy that looked about eighteen cheered loudly and rose his hands up in the air, causing beer from the glass he was holding to shower everywhere. Sakura let out a squeek -that nobody heard, of course- and jumped forward, accidentally crashing into Naruto. The blond looked down at her questioningly. She smiled up at him appologisingly, and he walked on.

Sakura continued to look around. On her left, two people stepped aside so the pink haired girl could now catch a glimpse of a long, futuristic bar. Stools were placed alongside it. Sakura couldn't make out colours because the people in front of it shielded the bar from the spotlights. Most of the stools weren't taken, and the guy behind the bar appeared to be very bored, holding his chin in his hand and supporting his arms on a drink machine.

Sakura halted when she noticed Naruto had stopped walking. He turned around and smirked.

''Where's the DJ?'' Sakura asked him over the music. She had been thinking about that eversince she entered Konoha Headlights. She remembered that, when she was a little kid, she used to dream about going to clubs like this one. She couldn't wait until she was old enough to be able to go inside. One of the things she was the most exited about was seeing a DJ. She didn't know exactly why, but she suspected it was because it seemed something that only appeared in movies. Of course, everything seems movie-like when you're a little kid that knows the biggest part of it's knowledge through films.

Naruto could look over the tops of the people's heads if he stood on tip toes, and because of this it was that he spotted the DJ all the way on the other side of the club. He pointed over to that place and Sakura nodded.

A new song started playing.

_''I see your dirty face high behind your collar_

_What is done in vain,_

_truth is hard to swallow_

_So you pray to God to justify the way you live a lie,_

_Live a lie, live a lie...''_

''I know this song!'' Sakura exclaimed, ''Come on!'' She yelled, ''Dance with me!'' Playfully, the girl grabbed both of his hands and started twisting him around. Naruto was caught of guard and almost toppled over, but quickly regained his balance. Sakura chuckled at his clumsiness, and Naruto answered her chuckle with an anxious smile of his own.

He bent down and shouted, ''I don't dance!''

Sakura cocked her head to the side and opened her mouth to yell a reply, ''Then why did you come to Konoha Headlights?''

''Maybe that wasn't the right way to tell you,'' Naruto figured. He smirked. ''I meant I don't dance when I'm _sober_.''

Sakura laughed and shook her head. "I'll get us some drinks!'' She turned around and dissapeared behind a snogging couple.

This was one of those moments the girl hated being scrawny. She yelped when somebody accidentally elbowed her in the back. Immediately after, Sakura was stuck between two chubby men. She dove forward desperately and landed face-first on a bar stool. Her position sure was an awkward one. She lay there in a weird angle, her arms spread out and lingering in mid-air, her legs dangling from the bar stool.

Feeling pretty stupid, she looked up. She looked straight in the face of the bartender, who didn't look that bored anymore. His arms were propped up on the iron surface so he was able to look over the bar and down at Sakura. One of his eyebrows was raised in question.

''-Er, a beer and a coke please.'' Sakura muttered, getting up. The bartender shrugged and reached down to grab two glasses. He placed them on the counter as the girl waited.

The brunet ruffled his hair. He looked down when his phone started to vibrate in his pocket.

''Just a moment!'' He yelled at the slightly odd girl in front of him. She didn't seem to hear him.

The bartender walked through the iron doors in the back of the bar. His footsteps seemed to echo on the floor and the walls of the storeroom. He fished his cell phone out of the pocket of his jeans.

''Hey.''

_''Hi, Sander. Temari speaking.''_

''Temari! Haven't talked to you in ages!''

_''I know,'' _The girl emphasized, _''The last time I saw you was during Kankurou's New Year's Eve party.''_

''So what's up? Do you want to meet some time again?''

_''Yeah, sure! But that's not why I'm calling.''_

''Really?'' Sander leaned back against one of the big boxes filled with drinks.

_''Yeah, I was wondering... A friend of mine asked a favour of me.''_

''Yes?''

* * *

About five songs later, the girl was still waiting for the bartender to get back.

Sakura looked around the bar. She had been waiting quite some time now. It shouldn't take this long just to get some drinks, right?

Just when she wanted to just return to Naruto, the doors in the back of the bar went open. The bartender walked through them.

His right hand gained her attention. His fingers were clasped around something that looked like a bottle. When the brunet noticed Sakura was looking at it, he moved his hand behind his back.

''Sorry it took so long!'' He yelled not very convincingly.

Sakura waved it off, ''It's okay!''

He bent down behind the counter, put Naruto's glass of beer on top of it and then crouched behind the bar again. He stayed down there a little longer than necessary, making Sakura worry a little bit. What was that man doing behind the counter? Why had he been trying to hide that bottle?

He stood up and placed Sakura's glass of coke next to Naruto's drink.

''How much?'' She yelled over the music.

The bartender shook his head, ''They're on me! Sorry I made you wait!''

Sakura smiled up at him, ''Thank you!''

Kindness always made her happy. How could she have doubted this man? He was so nice!

She grabbed the drinks and zigzagged her way through the crowd of dancing teenagers, miraculously arriving on the place Naruto stood without tripping or bumping into somebody. He was talking to two giggling brunette girls that looked like they were about eighteen years old.

Sakura walked towards the trio, glaring at the girls. Naruto noticed the girl and took his drink from her.

''Hey, thanks, Sakura!'' He grinned, ''Here, meet Susuki and Tamaki. They're college students.''

The girls looked down at her snippily, but bit back a squeak when they came face to face with the petite girl's glare. They said goodbye to Naruto and walked away quickly.

''What was that for?'' Naruto asked her when the girls had left. His grin turned from gentle to Chesire-cat like, suddenly, ''Jealous?''

Sakura shook her head fiercely, ''I don't trust those girls,'' she joked, referring to what Naruto had said earlier that night, ''I was just protecting you.''

Naruto laughed. ''What took you so long?'' He asked her, glugging down some of the beer.

Sakura shrugged. She took a sip from her coke, but was too busy focussing on the girls' dissapearing figures too notice the strange, unfamiliar taste the coke gave off. Even if she noticed it, she liked the taste too much to think anything of it.

She finished the drink more quickly than usual and dropped the plastic cup on the ground.

''Dunno why,'' She yelled into Naruto's ear, ''But that drink tasted good!'' She stretched out the word 'good' in a manner that didn't fit her at all. ''I'm gettin' some more! You want another beer?''

Naruto nodded, even though his cup was only half empty. He probably thought it would take her as long as it did the last time to get some drinks. If he thought that, he was wrong.

About two minutes later, she walked back towards him, not holding two but three cups. She held a new glass of beer out to him, only a few inches away from his face. He backed away slightly.

''Here, Narutoo~!'' She said, grinning. ''I hope it'll taste good!''

The blond took the glass from her with a, ''Thank you?'' He looked down at the two cups she was still holding and asked, ''Who'se the third cup for?''

The pinkette looked down a her hands and exclaimed, ''For me!'' She smiled and pointed at her chest, emphasizing her words.

Naruto watched, mouth hanging agape, as she clugged down the content of the cups one by one. She held the cups in front of her lips, trying to let even the last drop pour into her mouth. When nothing poured out anymore, she looked down at the cups. Then, the girl looked back up at the blond in front of her.

''They're empty.'' She said.

Naruto nodded stiffly.

''What'd you order?'' He asked her suspiciouly, recognising her strange demeanor.

''Coke, silly!'' The girl giggled.

Naruto's eyebrows knitted together, ''You sure?''

''Duh! I'm getting some more! For some reason, it tastes even better today!'' She gave him a small, girlish wave and walked away, dissapearing in the mass of people once more. Naruto reached out, trying to grab her arm, but she was too fast. He tried going after her, but pushing these people out of the way was different than shoving your way through sophomores and freshmen. Some of these teenagers were bigger than him.

He felt pretty stupid for letting her go at that moment. And he felt worried. A bit.

He flinched when the music pumping through the speakers he had been enjoying just moments ago suddenly changed into mocking laughter when it reached his ears. He frowned and followed the pink haired girl.

When he finally arrived at the bar, he found the girl sitting on one of the stools. She clugged down another drink. The bartender was busy preparing something that -Naruto suspected- also was for Sakura.

The only thing he didn't understand was why the bartender poured quite a large amount of liquid from a glass bottle into her cup before adding the Coca Cola.

* * *

The bartender shoved the drink over to the girl with a push of his hand and placed the bottle on the counter. At first, he had done so secretly, but now he thought she wouldn't notice even if he splashed the content of the bottle in her face.

It wasn't until then that the brunet noticed a blond guy standing a few feet away, looking from the girl to him suspiciously. Sander backed away slightly when the unknown guy stomped up to his bar.

''Hey!'' He said. The bartender guessed the 'hey' was not a greeting.

''Yes?'' The brunet asked innocently.

''What'd you pour into that girl's drink?'' He asked in a demanding tone.

_'Uh-oh.'_ ''I don't know what you're talking about.'' Then, unwillingly, his eyes trailed over to the bottle standing to the counter.

He had forgotten to put it away.

''Loss of memory?'' The blond asked him, blue eyes narrowed, as he snatched the bottle from the counter and showed it to him. Then, he read it's tag.

The boy tore his eyes away from the label and directed his gaze on the bartender. He opened his mouth and spoke with such venom in his voice that not even the music could drown it out, ''Wodka? 40% alcohol?''

''Please give that back, sir. It belongs to the bar.'' The bartender tried. Just when he thought the unknown blond would throw a punch at him, the pink haired girl tugged at said boy's sleeve.

The odium in the stare he had been giving Sander melted away and worry took it's place. He looked down at the pink haired girl, ''What is it, Sakura?''

''Naruto, I feel kinda sick. Can we go outside for a moment?''

''Sure,'' He replied, ''Here, I'll help you.''

He threw one hate-filled look Sander's way, and then assisted the girl he had called Sakura into the direction of the back door. As soon as the duo was out of sight, he turned to the water tap and threw some of the fresh liquid in his face.

Temari's favour had almost delivered him a black eye.

* * *

_''Guaaaaaaaaargh!''_

Naruto threw Sakura a worried glance over his shoulder. She was supporting herself on the wall, face turned towards the stone tiles from the pavement.

The teenagers had exited the building just in time before Sakura threw up all over the floor. She had immediately stormed over to a place that wasn't as crowded -or at least came pretty far- before she couldn't hold it in an longer. Naruto stood in front of the puking girl, back turned towards her because he figured she wouldn't like somebody watching.

He was just preparing on helping her walk back and taking her home, when the urge to puke crept up to the girl for he umpteenth time that half an hour.

The blond looked up at the sky and was surprised by the big amount of the stars beating their light down on the city underneath them. Maybe he could go stargazing later that evening.

Naruto winced when Sakura let out a pained groan.

Oh how Naruto'd love to go back into the club and give that bartender a good punch... But he couldn't. He couldn't leave Sakura alone in the state she was in.

He woke up from his thoughts when he noticed Sakura had stopped throwing up.

''-N-Naruto?...''

The blond turned around and walked towards her. She removed her hand from the wall and wiped her mouth.

''Feel better?'' Naruto asked her.

''A bit.'' Sakura replied.

''Want me to take you home?''

Sakura didn't answer. Instead, she turned around and flashed the blond a flirtatious smile.

Naruto took a few steps back, caught of guard by how out of character the girl in front of him was at that moment.

''I dunnooo~'' She started, her tone of voice sounding as if she had not just been puking half of her stomach out just minutes ago, ''I'm having fun over here, to be honest.''

''Sakura, you're drunk. You need to get home.''

''No way, I'm not drunk, silly.'' She slurred.

''Yes you are,'' Naruto sighed, massaging his temples with his fingers.

''No I'm not,'' Sakura repeated.

''Yes. You. Are.''

''Am not.''

''Are too.''

''Am not.''

With a final snarl, Naruto took a step forward, grabbed her by the waist, lifted her up and carried her over his shoulder to his scooter, muttering uncoherent words under his breath. To his surprise, Sakura stopped being childish. Although the low cackling that came from her kind of gave him the creeps.

''Hey, Naruto,'' She slurred into his ear.

''Yes?'' He asked her, forcing the blush that crept up his cheeks as her hot breath touched his neck to dissapear.

It didn't work.

The girl giggled, causing a few people that passed them to give the duo awkward looks. Or maybe it was the fact that Naruto was carrying her over his shoulder.

...Yeah, it was probably that.

''How could this have happened, anyway?'' He asked nobody in particular. Sakura, though, answered his question.

''I dunno, but I'm hungry. I didn't eat at all.''

Something clicked inside Naruto, ''What?''

''I fell asleep on the couch, remember?'' The girl slurred.

Naruto groaned, ''Never drink alcohol on an empty stomach!''

''I didn't drink alcohol!'' The girl argued.

Naruto kept silent, knowing the girl wouldn't understand even if he explained it to her in the state she was in right now.

''You know,'' Sakura whispered into Naruto's ear, waking him up from his thoughts, ''You're kinda hot.''

Naruto gulped audibly.

''_Okay_, time to get you home,'' He said quickly, trying to get her as far away from him as possible. Which wasn't easy, with her being carried by him and all.

It wasn't that those words surprised him. He didn't like to brag, but it was true that people told him he was goodlooking often enough. It was more who the words were coming _from._

It was strange how, about four years ago, he would have done anything to hear her say that. Three years ago, he would have laughed at her. Two years ago and one year ago, it was the same story. But now... -Now, it sent shivers down his spine. And that scared him.

He was glad to see the unmistakable image of his bright orange scooter, illuminated by the street lantern it stood underneath, popped up when they rounded a corner. Konoha Headlights had it's seat at a very busy street, in the centre of town. It was a very popular street for clubs and pubs, and most teenagers liked to go out in this part of town.

Naruto quickened his pace.

Luckily, he wasn't drunk. Not even a little. He would be able to drive.

Then another problem came to mind; how was Naruto going to take Sakura to her house when she was drunk? She could fall off the vehicle, or distract him while driving.

In a sudden inspirational impulse, he figured out what to do. He put Sakura back on her feet, gesturing towards his scooter.

She looked from the vehicle, to him, to the vehicle.  
''Sit down,'' Naruto clarified.

She nodded and tried sitting down. She almost toppled over and then giggled at her own clumsiness. When she finally succeeded in sitting down, Naruto sat down behind her and placed his hands on the steering gear, trapping Sakura between his arms.

He started the vehicle and drove down the street. The rest of the journey went quite flawless, all though Naruto didn't notice why until he arrived at Sakura's house. He pulled back his arms. Then, just when he wanted to get off the scooter, he noticed Sakura was slipping off the vehicle. She had been leaning against his arms. He let out a strange, high-pitched sound and jumped off his scooter, catching Sakura just in time before she hit the ground.

''-S-Sakura? Hey, Sakura!''

He turned her around in his arms, only to come face to face with a sleeping face. Her mouth hung slightly open, and a soft snoring sound came drifting towards him.

He sweatdropped, ''...Unbelievable...'' and carried the slim girl up the steps. He searched her bag for her keys, luckily finding them in a matter of seconds, and tried them one by one. The third one fit the lock. He carried the girl inside and up the stairs, only to find he didn't know where her room was.

No matter how rude it was, he saw no other option than just pushing open every door and see what was behind them, in the hope that he would be able to recognise Sakura's room.

The first room he entered was quite a big room, with a double bed in the middle. The curtains were closed, but the bed was empty aside from two pillows and a plain, violet coloured blanket. The room was pretty empty, only the basical bedroom furniture being present. Naruto noticed that there was a layer of dust laying on top of every object in the room, indicating the fact that nobody had been here in a while. The boy guessed it had been Sakura's parents' room. This also explained why every place in the house was clean and neat, except for this one room; Sakura hadn't dared to enter it.

He looked down at the girl's sleeping face. She looked so peaceful... He could only imagine what kind of sadness must be lying inside of that girls mind.

He could barely remember why he had once bullied her... Those days seemed to be months ago. Why would he have done so? How could he not have been able to see what kind of pain the girl felt?

The cast the gloomy room one last look before closing the door again and walking further. The other rooms he came across were a study, a bathroom and finally a room that, Naruto guessed, belonged to Sakura. The colours used in it were white, pink and red; Sakura's three favourite colours. With a sigh, he entered the room and carefully put the sleeping teenage girl in the white varnished bed.

Then, he draped the thin, soft pink blanket over her and left the room.

When he stepped into the cool, night air and walked over to his scooter. He grabbed his helmet with both of his hand and couldn't help but look up at the house one, final time.

It wasn't until he had crossed well over a half of the distance between his and Sakura's homes that he remembered he had forgotten to try and make the girl fall for him like Ino had wanted.

Naruto shook his head and let a chuckle escape his lips. Sakura sure was troublesome.

* * *

**(1) Take short showers, people. It's good for nature. ;D**

**(2) The reason these girls, unlike my other passerby characters, have Japanese names, is because they actually appear in Naruto. Their appearances are unimportant and stuff, but still. ;D**

* * *

_Phew, quite a long chapter, eh?_

_Please let me know what you think in a** review**! Also, ideas and suggestions are always welcome. I always try to fit in as much as I can._

_~Lion3queen_


	10. Do

_Hello everyone! Late update, I know... And I'm sorry. I haven't really had much time, seeing as how school begun last week. I just can't seem to get used to it. Bleh. DX_

_Phew, I'm so tired... I can't even come up with something useless and uninteresting to tell you guys. DX_

_Oh, wait, I remember! I got my first really negative review some weeks ago. For some reason, it felt as if that person had kicked me in the stomach... I haven't been feeling like writing ever since that happened. Maybe that was the, you know, most important reason on why this chapter came so late._

_I'm sorry, I'm holding you up! Go on, read! XD_

_~Lion3queen_

* * *

Morning came way too early for Sakura.

That annoying alarm clock woke her up at 9 AM, leaving her to groan, hit the device with her fist and rub her throbbing head with her fingers.

She sat up, letting a grunt escape her lips. She felt as if she had been hit by a truck. Everything hurt.

What had happened last night?

The last thing she remembered was entering Konoha Headlights with Naruto and getting them some drinks.

Sakura froze just before standing up, noticing a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. When she finally realized what was happening, she had to press her hand to her mouth so she wouldn't mess up the floor. She jumped to her feet, sprinted out of the room and into the bathroom, kneeled down next to the toilet and threw up.

When the pinkette was done she stood up dizzily and stumbled over to the sink so she could brush her teeth. Her reflection in the mirror above it scared her. She looked very pale, and was still wearing the clothes she had been wearing the day before.

She bent down and brushed her teeth. When she was finished she put her toothbrush in the plastic cup that always stood on the cabinet next to the sink and washed her face and hair underneath the water tab. The girl grabbed a towel from the rack and tied it around her head. Then she exited the bathroom and walked back into her room.

Sakura put on some clothes that fit her mood -a grey sweater, boring jeans and a pair of sneakers- and walked downstairs. Sakura wanted to go to the kitchen, but stopped in the doorway when she caught sight of the phone that hung from the wall above a house plant.

She massaged her temples slightly as she walked towards the device and dialed a telephone number. After a few seconds, somebody answered.

_''Wha- N-'' _A yawn could be heard, _''-Naruto speaking... Whaddizit?''_

''Naruto, this is Sakura.''

_''Oh, hey.'' _The reply came after a short moment, _''How're you feeling? Why're you waking me up?''_

''I feel like a train wreck. What happened last night?''

There were a few seconds of silence before Naruto answered, _''Well, you were kinda drunk...''_

''No I wasn't. I didn't drink any alcohol.''

_'__'I'll explain it to you some other time. Now it'd be best if you drink as much water as you can. It'll help.''_

''Ugh, stop yelling.'' Sakura muttered, irritated. She knew all too well he just wanted to continue sleeping. She wasn't going to let him. ''Seriously, how come I'm feeling like this?''

_'__'I already told you you were drunk last night. You have a hangover right now.''_

Sakura was silent for a few seconds. ''You were serious?''

_'__'Yeah.''_

''...''

_'__'Hey, I'm sorry. Just go drink some water and take it easy today. It should be over by tonight or tomorrow morning.''_

Sakura growled, ''I have to work today...'' She stomped her foot weakly, ''Ooooh...'' Naruto could just in time stop himself from laughing. He could almost _see_ the girl throw a tantrum through the phone. ''Okay, fine,'' The girl decided then, ''I'll just report myself sick today.''

_''Sure,'' _Came Naruto's lame reply, _''bye.''_

Too tired to answer him, Sakura just hung up and dialed her boss's number.

* * *

About one and a half an hour later Sakura was sulking behind cash desk number seven. She glared daggers at each customer that appeared to be planning on approaching her, succesfully scaring them away.

Her call hadn't gone that well, thanks to her lack of lying-skills. Sakura mentally cursed her father for being such an unbelievably bad liar. She had, sadly, gained that trait as well. Just like her father, her voice went high-pitched and shaky as soon as she said anything, she believed, wasn't true.

Two teenage boys took a step in the direction of cash desk number seven, but backed away when Sakura sent them a piercing glare. The pink haired girl rolled her eyes at them and pulled a book out of her bag.

Without the tender look Sakura normally wore when she looked at her books, she studied it's cover.

'Abélard and Héloïse' she read. The book was old and heavy because it was, like every book that belonged to her favourites, the first print. She remembered how long it had taken to finally find this copy, hours and hours of searching. Sakura leafed through the book, not really knowing what else to do.

She hadn't really done so for long, when she was disturbed by a shrill voice. ''Sakura?''

Reluctantly, Sakura heaved her throbbing head up only to look straight into the face of Shion. The blonde stood in front of the cash desk, an arrogant expression on her face, Gucci sunglasses placed on her head and a light blue handbag clutched in her hands.

''Oh, hello, Shion,'' Sakura greeted without much enthusiasm. She knew Shion from school. They had never really talked before, but Sakura knew the blonde was a friend of Naruto's. She also knew Shion always laughed at the pinkette with her friends every time she walked past them. Shion was known for being extremely arrogant, nosy and popular. Which was exactly why Sakura wondered why the girl now stood in front of her.

Then she remembered she was expected to be working.

''I wanna buy these,'' the girl remarked, her lips pulled up into a tight, insincere smile. It looked insincere because her blue eyes didn't laugh with her. Shion gestured at the groceries in her arms. They consisted of peach coloured lipgloss, a six pack of soft drinks, a bag of deep frozen ice pops and a magazine.

Shion's cellphone rang then, and the girl quickly put her groceries on the cash desk with her free hand. She picked up her phone.

''Oh my gosh! Hey, Tenten! I was just about to call you!'' Shion squealed then, loud enough to cause Sakura's eardrums to burst. Her face scrunched up in discomfort. Shion paused for a while, probably listening to what Tenten had to say. ''Not here,'' she said then, her eyes flicking over to Sakura, ''she can hear it.'' Then, as if it made a difference, the blonde continued talking, only slightly less loudly. It wasn't like it mattered, though. Still, every person in the shop was able to understand Shion's every word. Sakura rolled her eyes. ''I know right! Can you believe she went there with Naruto?'' For a second, she made a sound as if she was disgusted. ''Why'd he choose someone like her to go out with, anyway?'' She was silent for a while again. ''Oh, Temari told me.'' Inwardly, Sakura snorted. She was annoyed at how fast news traveled when it was spread by the right person. ''Okay, don't tell anyone I told you, but the rumor goes around that Ino asked a favour of Temari!''

This didn't sound that special to Sakura. People asked favours of others everyday. There must be a reason why Shion was particularly interested in this rumour. The pinkette nosiness won from the urge to do her job -it wasn't like this urge was very big, anyway- and so she went on with the groceries, only much more slowly than necessary.

''I really can't tell you. No, really, Tenten, I promised I wouldn't tell anyone...'' Then, when Shion seemed to think Tenten pleaded long enough, she continued, ''Okay, I can tell you, but you gotta _promise _you won't tell anyone.'' After another short pause, the girl ran a manicured hand through her blond hair, ''Okay, well, I heard Ino asked Temari to ring up her friend, who works at Konoha Headlights.''

None of this clicked inside Sakura's head, since, of course, she barely remembered anything from the previous night.

''Nobody knows what the favour was exactly, but I heard it had something to do with getting somebody drunk or something...'' Another moment of silence. ''Yeah I'm sure! Anyhow, also the rumour goes around that Temari didn't want to do what Ino asked of her, so Ino kind of _forced_ her, if you know what I mean- _Will you hurry up with those groceries?_'' The girl snapped at Sakura then, catching the pinkette off guard.

_'Who does that bitch think I am; her maid?'_ The girl thought, biting back a snarl. But she threw Shion's groceries into a plastic bag -with a bit more force than necessary- and then held it out to the blonde, who took them from her with an annoyed look on her delicate face. She then walked away without casting Sakura as much as a glance, loudly chattering away with her friend about the most superficial things possible.

The teenage girl behind the cash desk made a mental note to ask Naruto whether he knew what kind of 'favour' Shion had been talking about.

When she was finally done working, Sakura hurried home through the drizzle that had started falling down from the sky during the time the pinkette girl had spent working in the supermarket, made some dinner and walked upstairs. She opened the door to her bedroom, dressed in her pyjamas and let herself fall to her bed.

She made her head empty then, letting the drumming of the rain against the thin roof and the sighing of the wind lull her to sleep.

* * *

The next morning Sakura woke up with a decreased headache. She felt much better.

Her eyelids fluttered open, and the girl was greeted by a sunny room. The light that bled through the large windows made square-shaped prints of sunlight on the cotton blankets, warming Sakura up in the process.

She stretched, yawning.

The girl swung her legs out of the bed and stood up. She cut across the room and opened the windows, letting the fresh morning breeze carry the dusty air away. Sakura placed her hands on the window sill and leaned out of the window.

Was it just her, or did the birds' songs sound extra beautiful today?

The girl let a sigh escape through her plump lips and turned away from the window.

It really was a beautiful day. Sakura skipped out of her room and down the stairs. She made herself some tea and boiled an egg.

The girl yearned for a special Sunday-morning breakfast, like she used to have with her parents each week.

Sakura tapped the top of the egg with her spoon but when she wanted to take a bite, a shrill ringing caused her to look up, her spoon lingering in mid-air.

The pinkette looked over her shoulder. The ringing came from her cellphone which lay on the worktop, it's charger plugged into an elektric point.

Reluctantly, she stood up and answered it. ''Sakura's cell?'

_''Hey, Sakura! It's Naruto.''_

''Oh, hello Naruto! Why are you calling?''

_''I'm bored. Wanna come over?''_

''Sure. I'll come when I've finished breakfast.''

_''Okay, see you later, then.''_

Sakura lowered the device and put it back on the sink. Then she returned to her egg.

* * *

About two hours later, Sakura stepped out of the elevator on the floor where Naruto's apartment was seated. She walked the long hallway until she arrived at her friend's door, and rang the bell.

The girl tugged at the leg of her -uncomfortably short- denim dungarees, in a futile attempt to make them cover her legs up more. She looked up quickly when the door in front of her opened, revealing Naruto. His clothes were casual like always. The only thing that caught Sakura's attention was the cap he wore, covering a big amount of his blond, gravity-defying hair. It had 'Konoha High Wolves' on it; the school's football team, as you might know.

''Hey,'' He greeted her, flashing the girl a toothy grin. Sakura couldn't help but notice how his eyes seemed to flick over to her legs for a second. She _knew_ she should have put on something else.

''Hello!''

''Want something to drink or something?'' He asked her as he led her inside. She nodded.

''What? Just a Coke?'' He walked over to the kitchen but stopped in the doorway, probably waiting for a reply.

''Er- sure!''

He disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Sakura alone in his living room.

She always liked his appartment. It might be small and stuffed, but that was what made it cozy.

Suddenly, she remembered something. Anxiously, she strode over to the kitchen. Naruto stood with his back turned to her. He reached for something in the refrigerator; probably cans of coke. ''Hey, Naruto?''

His fingers closed around the cans and he stood up, looking at her over his shoulder, ''Yeah?''

''Look, I'm sorry about...'' Sakura fidgeted with the necklace she wore. How was she going to tell him she was sorry about what happened Friday night? She didn't even know if she had done anything creepy! Well, she guessed she could at least appologise for being a burden to him. ''...You know, Friday.'' She finished finally.

He pulled the can he held open and brought it to his lips. When he brought it down again he said, ''It's okay. Nothing happened, right?''

Sakura gaped at him, ''How should I know?'' she questioned drily.

Naruto chuckled and then smiled at her. Not a smirk. Not a sneer. An actual _smile_. ''Yeah, good point.'' He said.

Sakura felt her cheeks grow warm. She smiled back up at him and grabbed the can he held out to her.

''What happened, anyway?''

Naruto ruffled his hair nervously. ''Well, we went to Konoha Headlights, and at a certain point you wanted to get some drinks-''

''I know that part. I mean after that.'' Sakura pursed her lips.

''Lemme talk, then! Anyhow, you went to get some drinks and you were gone for quite a while. But just when I wanted to go after you, you came back. You acted kind of strangely, but I didn't think much of it. Then, you wanted to get some more drinks and came back with like _very_many. And you clugged them away one by one.''

Sakura could only gape at him.

''I grew suspicious, and when you wanted to get some more I followed you, to see you sitting on a bar stool. That sick bartender was mixing Vodka through your drink.'' Sakura's eyes widened. ''When I noticed that I took you away from there. I wanted to give the ass what he deserved, but you really weren't feeling well...'' Naruto scratched the back of his neck anxiously. ''You're lucky I went after you. Who knows what that sick-minded bastard would have done to you.''

''I'm sorry...'' Sakura said after a few seconds. ''Was I a pest? When I was drunk, I mean.''

The blond shrugged. ''You should see Sasuke when he's drunk.'' He smirked.

There were a few minutes of silence until Sakura opened her can of coke.

That was when she noticed the paper lying unfolded on the worktop behind the boy. ''Hey, what's that?'' She asked, nodding towards it.

Naruto followed her gaze until it rested on the paper. ''Oh, that.'' He walked over to it and held it out to her. ''It's a letter from Jiraiya's office.''

''Your guardian?'' She asked him, studying the sheet of paper.

''Yeah. Each year, they're holding this fancy 'ball' thing. Since it's that pervy old man's company, I get an invitation.''

''Is it fun?'' Sakura asked him. Her whole life, she could only have dreamed of going to a big party like the one Naruto was talking about.

Naruto shrugged, ''Dunno. I never go.''

''Why not?'' Sakura asked him, flabbergasted.

''Can't dance.'' Naruto explained with an anxious smile.

Sakura's jaw dropped, ''You can! You danced Friday ni-'' She stopped talking, remembering he hadn't been dancing at all. _She_ had been the one dancing.

Naruto shrugged, taking another sip from his coke.

Sakura's surprised expression faded, and was replaced with a cheerful one. ''What if I teach you?''

Naruto almost choked in his drink. ''-W-What?'' He managed to gasp between coughs.

''If I teach you how to dance, can I go to the ball with you?'' She asked him, not seeming to notice his odd behaviour. ''I've always wanted to go to a ball like that one!''

''I think- well- er- sure.'' He stuttered, ''Why not.''

''Really? It's okay?'' Sakura asked him, beaming.

''Yeah I mean, I'm kinda curious for the whole ball thing.'' Naruto muttered. ''Only kinda.'' He added when Sakura chuckled.

The girl walked out of the kitchen. ''Let's go up to the roof!'' she insisted.

''Why're you so cheerful today?'' Naruto muttered, walking back to the fridge to get a sixpack of soft drinks.

''Why would I not be? The weather is gorgeous, my stupid hangover is over _and _it's Sunday.'' The girl exclaimed. She turned around, her bubblegum pink hair twisting around her face. She walked into the direction of the balcony, Naruto in tow. The blond pulled the glass sliding doors open and stepped into the fresh air.

''Need me to help you on top of the roof?'' Naruto asked Sakura, turning around so he could look at her in the face. He jabbed his thumb at the rain pipe behind him.

The pink haired girl huffed and grabbed the rain pipe with both hands. Then, she placed her feet on a ring of iron, probably there to secure the pipe against the building, and climbed all the way up to the roof, not noticing the way Naruto was trying not to stare up at her long legs, fists clenched so tightly his fingers begun to look white.

About five seconds later, the boy had climbed his way up the rainpipe -the sixpack in his right hand- and poked his head over the wall so he had a good view of the empty roof. Empty, aside from a girl that crouched beside a chimney, looming over a rectangular object.

It wasn't until Naruto had finally made it onto the roof and stretched his arms above his head, overlooking the city, that he realized what the object Sakura studied _was_.

'Shit!' he thought, before snapping his head around and stomping over to Sakura. The girl looked up and smiled at him innocently, giving him a small wave.

''Why helloooo, Naruto,'' she tittered, ''Sooo... Care to explain why there is a copy of Pride and Prejudice lying all alone on your roof?'' She held a book out to the blond so it barely touched his surprised face. It's cover and pages worn and yellow, as if it had been lying on a roof for weeks and weeks, the sun beating down on it and then rain crashing down on it after.

''Come on, give it to me!'' Naruto ordered lamely, trying to grasp the book. But Sakura held it out of his reach.

Her smile grew into a Chesire-cat like smirk and she took a step away from the boy, ''Not until you explain why there's a Jane Austen book on your roof, mr Popular.''

Naruto took one step in her direction and once again attempted to snatch the object away from her. Again, he failed.

''You're not going to get it!'' Sakura laughed.

_'Oh really?'_ The blond thought, a smile spreading over his own features. This startled her.

Naruto reached for the girl with his arms and poked her in her sides, causing her to let out a weird sound that sounded somewhat like a snort.

''No no no!'' She gasped as he continued tickling her, ''Stop it!'' But the thought of hearing her laugh again was too tempting, and so Naruto didn't stop. Sakura laughed until her knees trembled and she dropped down on the floor. Even then, Naruto continued tickling. ''Stop, you jerk!'' She laughed, squirming around. He lowered himself to the ground as well.

Then, when Naruto finally stopped tickling her, she opened her eyes, to see the blond looming over her. He was close enough to her for her to be able to see the lighter specks in his unusually big, sapphire coloured eyes.

''What are you-?'' She whispered, still out of breath from laughing so hard.

He smiled at her, causing Sakura's cheeks to grow hotter. He really was too close to her.

Or maybe... Not close enough?

What was he doing, practically pressed up against her?

Her question didn't remain unanswered, for at that moment he showed her the book. ''Got it!''

Surprised, Sakura looked down at her fingers. She hadn't felt him taking it away from her.

The pinkette let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding in. ''Okay, you got it,'' She huffed. ''So what?''

''Didn't know you were ticklish.'' The blond said, smirking from ear to ear, ''_Or_that you get red in the face when I get close to you.'' He threw in then, causing Sakura's eyebrows to knit together and her mouth to twitch into a frown.

''Well, I'm ticklish. Maybe. But I wasn't red!'' She defended herself. The girl walked over to the edge of the building and sat down carefully. Naruto plopped down beside her, obviously much more used to the height than Sakura.

''Oh really?'' he asked her, imitating the tone Sakura had been speaking with minutes before, when she had found the book.

''Yeah, really!'' She snapped back. ''Give me one of those.'' The girl pointed to the six-pack Naruto was fiddling with, trying to get a can out. When he finally succeeded he threw it over to Sakura, who caught it just before it fell down to the streets way below them. ''But seriously, what does that book do here?''

Naruto opened the can. It fizzled. Reluctantly, he started talking. ''Well, you said it was good and all. And I wanted to, you know... Get to know you better. So I went to the bookstore on the opposite side of the street and bought it.'' He took a sip from the fresh beverage. ''I guessed that, since you were all enthusiastic about it, it had to be good.''

Sakura cast him a glance. He looked down at his drink with a pout, his hands clenched around his drink. She let out a giggle, causing him to snap his head around, jaw hanging off it's hinges. Sakura only laughed harder at this picture.

''What is it?'' Naruto muttered, not able to hide the amused tone in his voice.

''That's so- so sweet!'' She exclaimed, for lack of a better word. The blond smirked.

''Yeah, don't get too used to it.''

The two teens grew silent once again, just gazing at the city below and around them, bursting with life. They were surrounded by car klaxons, laughter and chattering that drifted up from the crowd underneath them.

_'They're like ants.'_Sakura thought, leaning forward slightly.

''Hey, Naruto,'' Sakura started. There had been a question ghosting around in her head for a while now. She didn't know if it was a sensitive subject, and so she chose her words carefully. ''I've been wondering why you're living on your own.''

The blond's smile slipped away. Sakura winced._ 'Okay, not carefull enough...'_ She thought, biting her lip.

After a while, Naruto cleared his throat, ''Well, when I was just a baby, my parents-'' He took a deep breath, ''My parents and me got in a car accident. My mom threw herself over me, so I only ended up with some scars on my face,'' He pointed at the whisker-like scars on both sides of his face, ''But, er- she died. My dad held out until he arrived in the hospital, but passed away later that night.''

Sakura fiddled with the straps of her dungarees nervously, ''I'm sorry...'' She whispered when nothing more intelligent came to mind.

''It's okay, it's not like you did anything. Plus, I was a baby. I can't remember much of them.''

''What do you remember?'' Sakura asked.

''I remember some stuff about my mom.'' Naruto replied.

''What was she like?'' The pinkette questioned.

''She was a bit like you.''

Sakura didn't know what to think of this. ''How do you mean?''

''Her mood-swings. She was kind of feisty, too. And nice. She was all in one, if you know what I mean.'' Naruto said. He pulled one of his legs up on the roof and propped it up, so he could rest his arm on it.

Sakura smiled at this. ''If you ever feel like talking about it some more... I promise I will listen, okay?''

Naruto looked back at her, smiling as well. ''That's okay.''

He kept looking at her, even when she had already looked away.

Sakura was so different from his other friends.

He snapped his head back to the street. Had he just called her his friend?

_'__She is, in a way...'_ He thought then, secretly shooting the girl a glance from behind his bangs. _'Am I still acting? Do I still plan on telling her I wasn't her friend- not really?'_

The sick feeling that invaded his stomach answered his question.

His eyebrows knitted together. He didn't want to.

He didn't want to throw all of this away.

What was he going to do? He didn't want to lose his other friends, but he didn't want to lose Sakura either.

''Naruto?'' Sakura asked after a few minutes. The sudden stiff position and nervous neck-scratching from Naruto hadn't slipped her mind. ''Are you feeling well?''

Naruto nodded stiffly.

''Would you rather be alone for a moment?'' Sakura questioned then. She knew she always wanted to be alone when she felt bad. Naruto wasn't fooling anyone; something was bothering him.

The blond sighed and smiled at the girl next to him apologetically. ''Do you mind...?''

Sakura shook her head. ''I'll see you at school tomorrow. When do you wanna start the dancing lessons?''

''How about Thursday?''

''Okay. Bye!'' She gave him a wave before walking off to where the rain pipe was. She halted half way, though, and spun around again. ''One thing. I was working in the supermarket yesterday, and I heard Shion talk with a friend... She said that a few days ago, Ino asked Temari to call a friend of hers, that works in Konoha Headlights. Would you know what she meant?'' Naruto shook his head in response. ''That's okay. I was just wondering.'' She climbed down, disappearing out of his line of view.

Naruto turned his head towards the horizon. He thought about what Sakura had just said, and then about Friday night. _'It can't be that...' _He thought.

He fished his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed Ino's number.

His phone beeped into his ear repeatedly, before Ino's voice boomed into his ear. _''Helloooo, this is Ino's cell! I'm sorry, I can't really pick up right now. Leave a message!'' _

Naruto sighed and hung up. He'd talk to her about this some other time.

Now, the blond had to think. What'd he do? What could he do?

If he stayed friends with Sakura, he'd without a doubt lose all of his other friends. But he wasn't sure if he could hurt her.

With a groan, he let himself fall down on his back. He put his hands over his eyes.

What to do?

* * *

_Was this chapter lame?_

_Please review! And, just to clear this up, if you post a negative review, give me an advice on how to make my fanfiction better! I'd appriciate that very much._

_Until next time!_

_~Lion3queen_


	11. Little

_It's alive!_

_I'm very sorry for updating so late... And I promised myself I'd update quickly this time, too. Bleh. I've been very studying and stuff. Luckily my work pays off; my grades are really good!_

_I wanted to thank you guys for all your sweet and encouraging reviews. They made me tear up, really! You guys are all so sweet..._

_This chapter is for you!_

_~Lion3queen_

* * *

_'Scratch scratch'_.

Naruto bit his lip and brought his face closer to the paper.

_'Scratch scr-'_ _'Crack!' _

He muttered a curse under his breath and turned in his seat. Kiba and Hinata looked up at him, the latter immediately flushing a bright red. ''Hey, d'you have a pencil sharpener?''

With trembling fingers, the girl reached into her pen case and held a small, rectangular object out to the blond. ''-Er, uhm... H-here.''

''Thanks.'' He turned back to the drawing he had been working on and quickly sharpened his pencil. Then, he positioned it on the paper once again and continued sketching.

It was Wednesday, and Naruto and his class were currently busy with Biology. Well, the rest was busy with that. Naruto... was busy doing something else.

He ran the eraser over a line, leaving nothing but small, grey crumbs. Naruto wiped these away with his arm. The blond ran a hand through his hair and studied his drawing.

It was a realistic portrait of the back of the girl sitting in front of him; Sakura.

Biology was the only class Naruto was good at, and so he was allowed to sit a bit further in the back of the classroom. Some time ago, this had given him the perfect opportunity to bother Sakura. Now, it gave him the opportunity to talk to her. Or draw her, like he was doing now. Their Biology teacher, Mr Yamato, didn't teach them much anyway. He only sat behind his desk, reading one of the big books the many book cases in the classroom were filled with.

The left side of Naruto's face was touched by the sunlight seeping in through the glass windows, the hotness of the weather growing almost uncomfortable. The blond brushed the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and looked out of the window.

It was sunny and muggy today. A few clouds floated aimlessly in the bright blue, looking like waves swept along a river. Here and there, a few students sat on the grass in the shadows of the trees, escaping from the sun's warmth.

The days grew warmer with every sunrise. Luckily, it wasn't long until summer break; two entire months of doing nothing and enjoying their free time. They would probably all go on a vacation, too. All but one.

Naruto tore his eyes away from the school yard and directed his gaze on the pink haired girl in front of him. She sat there, bent over the piece of paper she was working on so deep that her nose touched the paper. The seat beside her was empty like always. His eyebrows knitted together.

Sakura wouldn't go on a vacation. She would be alone.

It wasn't until Ino waved her hand in front of Naruto's face that he noticed she had been talking to him.

''-Hey Naruto, are you listening?''

''Er, yes.'' Naruto lied, ''Just repeat the last thing you said, I didn't understand it.''

''I said I can't wait for the summer vacation! My parents have this really cute summer home in Europe, and they said we, as in, me and whoever I want to invite, could go there!''

''They trust you with their house?'' Naruto asked the girl anxiously.

Ino huffed in reply, and crossed her arms. ''They happen to find me very responsible.''

There were a few seconds of silence before Naruto and everything within ear-shot burst out laughing.

''What?'' Ino exclaimed, irritated. She only earned some more giggles. ''And those people dare to call me their friends...'' The blonde muttered. ''Hey, Naru, I'm gonna talk to Takuya for a sec. I'll be right back!''

The blonde was gone for barely two seconds, when the pinkette in front of Naruto turned around in her seat.

''_'Naru?__'_'' She asked him mockingly, one eyebrow raised.

''Shut up.'' Naruto murmured.

The girl smirked, Naruto's reaction obviously the one she had targeted. ''My, aren't we quite the grumpy one today.''

''I'm allowed to. Two teachers gave me detention today. That's even more than usually!'' The blond said, banging his head onto the table. Sakura winced. ''Okay, ouch.'' Naruto grunted, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand. **(A/N: This is something that once happened to my friend Danielle. XD Sorry honey; I had to use it.)**

''Hey, what's that?'' Sakura asked then, finally catching sight of the paper lying on Naruto's table.

The boy, realising he had forgotten to put it away, tried to snatch it away. Sakura, however, was faster.

''Is this me?'' She questioned, her eyes trailing over the drawing.

Yes, the girl on the drawing was her, unmistakably. The hair on the back of the head of the girl on the drawing was messy -because Sakura could never reach the back of her head with her brush well enough to make it look neat- and the denim jacket she was wearing looked just like the one Sakura wore.

Naruto mumbled something inaudible. ''Wow, Naruto,'' Sakura said eventually, ''This is really, really good. Unbelievable.'' Naruto looked up to see her staring back at him, green eyes big with amazement and excitement. She looked down at the sheet of paper once more. ''I mean, really... It's so realistic! And look at the colouring!''

''It's just a sketch.'' Naruto said, flustered. He hadn't expected Sakura to like it that much.

The girl was silent for a few seconds, before looking up at him once more, ''Can I keep it?''

''Yeah, sure,'' Naruto replied almost instantly, ''go ahead.''

Sakura beamed, ''Thanks.'' She folded it and put it in her notebook, so it wouldn't wrinkle or tear. ''Hey, are we still going to go through with the dancing lessons?''

Naruto accidentally bit his tongue. He let out a hiss and snapped his head around to see if anybody had heard what the girl had said. Nobody seemed to be listening to their conversation.

Relieved, Naruto faced the pinkette again, who looked at him questioningly. ''I don't want anyone to know about our deal, okay?'' He explained.

Sakura shrugged, ''Sure. But are we going through with it?''

Naruto nodded. ''I'll meet you by the bicycle stands after school tomorrow.''

''Okay. I was thinking that it'd be easier if we went to my house. I've got more free space than you.'' The girl said, twisting a lock of pink hair around her finger. Naruto nodded.

At that moment, Ino approached Naruto's seat again and plopped down on her own. Sakura immediately turned around and went back to work.

Ino, who didn't seem to have noticed anything, exclaimed, ''Nice! Takuya wants to go to the summer home. I still have to ask a few more people. _And _you of course.'' She turned around so her knees pointed at him. The blond clasped her hands together in a begging manner and for some reason, managed to make her eyes even bigger. Her lips were pulled into a pout. ''Are you coming, too?''

''Dunno.'' Naruto said, eyes flicking over towards the ceiling.

''Aw, come on! It'll be twice as much fun with you there!'' The girl purred with a wink. Naruto only rolled his eyes. He knew her long enough to know all of her tricks by now.

The girl now crossed her arms. ''Come on,'' she said, irritated, ''There's a beach nearby! And I know how much you like surfing...''

''There's a beach there?'' Naruto exclaimed now, unable to keep his enthusiasm in check. He had always had a weak spot for the sea.

Ino brushed the strands of platinum blond hair that always hung in front of her right eye away, so she could look at him. ''Yes!'' She confirmed, ''The hugest waves!'' She gestured with her arms, emphasising her words.

''Fine, I'll come.'' Naruto smirked. He wouldn't want to miss this.

''Yay!'' Ino chirped, clapping her hands together. Then, she turned around in her seat and started trying to convince Kiba and Hinata to come with her as well.

In front of them, Sakura sat on her chair, shoulders hunched up. It was strange how much Ino scared her.

Yes, she was terrified of the blonde. Absolutely terrified. She could barely imagine they had been friends once. The best of friends.

They would discuss everything together, and hold sleepovers almost every night. They squealed over boys, gossiped about girls... They did everything young girls were expected to do.

Sakura still didn't fully get how it could have gotten this far. The two had been best friends back when they started high school. They had been inseparable.

Then, a few months on, Ino had distanced herself from Sakura. It had started with small things; Ino not picking up her phone when Sakura called her, not being able to go shopping with her, and not wanting to work together with Sakura on a school project.

Things had only gone downhill from there. Ino didn't want Sakura to come to her house anymore. Sakura also more and more often walked in on Ino badmouthing her in front of other girls.

From that moment on, people stopped talking to her altogether. Sadly, they didn't stop talking _about_ her. They pretended she was deaf or stupid, talking about her when they stood less than two feet away from her. Nobody cared. Nobody cared how much it hurt.

What happened after that was even worse. It didn't stay with badmouthing or gossiping. The students threw away Sakura's stuff when she wasn't looking, and later laughed at her when she searched through the trash to get them back. They waited for her after school and pushed, punched or slapped her. They pulled her hair. They told her she was ugly. Told her all kinds of horrible things, and never, anybody looked twice. Nobody noticed. Nobody wanted to notice.

Nobody cared Sakura died a bit inside with every venomous word. Every arrogant glance. Every laugh.

And then, all of a sudden, there had been that talk with Naruto. And she knew that every time she spent with him, every friendly talk, mended a bit of her broken heart. It was funny how eventually, a part of the problem had been the resolve.

Sakura smiled slightly down at the sheet of paper she was working on.

She had never felt more alive in her life than now that Naruto was in it. It was funny to imagine that if anybody had told her she would ever feel this happy because of Naruto a few years ago, she would have laughed at them in the face. And now look at her.

The classroom door opened and Shizune, Tsunade's assistant, entered the classroom. She looked around, her short, black hair slapping her in the face, and then strode over to Yamato's desk. They had a quick conversation and then Shizune left the classroom again, the heels of her shoes clicking against the linoleum.

Yamato put his book away and his eyes trailed towards someone behind Sakura. ''Uzumaki. Tsunade's office.'' He announced.

''It's _mister _Uzumaki for you,'' Naruto corrected under his breath, receiving a few snickers from other students. But then he stood up anyway and slantered over to the door.

Barely two minutes after the blond had closed the door behind him, a squeaky voice made Sakura look up from her homework.

''Sakura?''

The girl's jaw tightened, and her heart started increasing it's tempo of beating. The girl squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the person to call out her name again, hoping to be mistaken. Maybe the voice didn't say 'Sakura'. Maybe it said 'papaya'. Yeah. Who knows.

''Hellooooo, Sakura?''

Shoot.

Slowly, the girl turned her shaking head around in the direction where the voice came from. Soon, she came eye to eye with it's owner. Ino Yamanaka.

Sakura gulped. ''A-are you talking to me?''

''Er, yeah. Do you see another Sakura here?'' Ino asked her, hitching up an eyebrow. She gestured towards the noisy classroom.

Dumbly, Sakura looked around. Duh.

''Anyhow,'' Ino said then, scratching her table with the pen she held in her fingers, ''I was wondering whether you like Naruto.''

It was a good thing Sakura wasn't drinking anything, because she would have spat it out right into Ino's face. ''What?'' She wheezed. Then, she quickly regained her posture and answered, ''Well I mean, of _course! _We're friends right?'' She even forced a small smile at the blonde.

''I dunnooooo,'' Ino said, stretching the word out unnecessarily, ''I mean, he talks about you _all _the time... I'm suspecting he might like you.'' The girl added then. ''And I mean like-like.'' It was a lie, really. She rarely talked to Naruto at all lately. She just wanted to see how Sakura would react. Because of course, if Naruto wouldn't tell her about the progress of her plan, she'd find out herself.

Her question was answered quickly, as Sakura's face changed colour. Soon, her normally pale cheeks were stained with pink.

Ino's glossy lips turned upwards in a smirk. Ready to hand! This was too easy.

''-D-don't be silly.'' Sakura whispered in a quivery tone.

Ino shook her head. ''I'm not kidding! I swear!'' The girl heaved her hands up. ''Really!''

The girl looked back down at the paper, a part of her strangely excited, and another part of her tried to slap the fore mentioned part so it wouldn't get the upper hand in the mental battle. For an unknown reason though, Sakura smiled. The warmth in her face spread through her body and caused a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach. A weird, fluttery feeling.

Sakura opened her hands and held them in front of her face. They were shaking.

''Hellooo, Sakura! It's, like, so impolite to turn around when we're in the middle of a conversation!'' The blonde exclaimed obnoxiously from behind her. Then the opening classroom door gained their attention. ''Er, never mind.'' Ino added as Naruto closed the door behind him and approached her table. He plopped down on his chair.

''What're you grinning at?'' He asked the blonde, hitching up an eyebrow. The girl beside him shrugged and looked out of the window, the smirk evident on her features.

* * *

''So what'd you do this time?'' Sakura asked Naruto. They were walking the crowded hallways together.

Lunch break had just started, and Sakura had taken this chance to ask the blond about his visit to Tsunade's office.

Sakura craned her neck forward slightly, so she could look at Naruto's face from underneath the bangs that always covered his forehead.

''Nothing, I swear!''

Sakura made a weird, ''Uh-huh...'' sound and entwined her fingers behind her back.

''Really, nothing!'' He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in annoyance. Sakura chuckled at the picture. ''Well, somebody scratched granny Tsunade's car with their keys, and now I'm getting punished for it.'' He explained then, grabbing his hair with his hands. ''I didn't do shit!'' He was quiet then, and added, with the smirk he usually wore when he was proud of himself, ''-_this_ time.''

''Well, so that's two times detention, and - what do you have to do for principal Tsunade?''

''I have to hand out pamphlets for some kind of good cause in the mall.''

''- and handing out pamphlets. This must be a record.''

''Shut up.''

''Alright, alright!'' Sakura smiled, heaving her hands up in defense. ''But don't go all innocent on me. I'm sure there's been many times when you were the blame for things happening to teachers and you didn't get caught.''

''Nothing you can prove!'' Naruto replied in a singsong-tone of voice. Sakura laughed again. Then, a red haired girl standing in front of an open locker gained her attention.

''Hello, Karin!'' She greeted the senior. The aforementioned girl straightened her back, placed a hand on her hip and turned around with an annoyed expression on her face. When she recognised the pink haired girl, though, her irritated pout disappeared and was replaced by a genuine smile.

''Hey there, Sakura!'' She walked over to the duo and gave the smaller of the two a soft pat on the head. Then her intimidating crimson eyes flicked over to the blond standing beside her. Naruto gulped audibly, and then pretended to cough. Karin pushed her black glasses up her nose and grinned back down at Sakura again. ''So_ this _is Naruto, eh?''

Sakura reddened slightly, embarrassed at how it now seemed as if she did nothing but talking about him.

''Yeah, that'd be me.'' Naruto said. He didn't seem to have thought anything of Karin's comment.

''I'm Karin.'' The girl said. ''Say, would you mind if I borrow Sakura from you?''

''Er, no, go ahead.''

Karin turned to Sakura then and said, ''Come on!'' The girl turned around and walked back to her locker. Sakura followed her. When she looked behind her, Naruto had walked over to a group of popular looking guys and started talking to them. They immediately laughed and gave him a pat on the back. They appeared to be good friends. Sakura turned her head back to Karin and flinched at the devious smirk the redhead had her mouth twitched into.

''W-what is it?'' the girl stuttered.

''He really _is_ quite a catch!'' She remarked. Then she turned back to her locker as if nothing had happened.

''Shut up!'' Sakura managed to stammer.

''Try and deny it.'' Karin tittered. She tossed the blond a look over her shoulder, motioning for Sakura to do so as well. The pinkette gave him a quick glance. Karin shook her head. ''Look better.''

Sakura's emerald eyes trailed back to the tall figure of Naruto. His sunshine blond spikes stood messily upon his tanned face. His cerulean blue eyes were visible even from the distance where Sakura was standing. The sleeves of the black shirt he was wearing had been rolled up until above his elbows and the top of the shirt was left unbuttoned, giving him a wild look. All in all, the teenage boy was, indeed, very attractive. Sakura couldn't even remember why she hadn't thought so back in middle school. Had she been blind?

She looked back at Karin, who grabbed a crimson strand of hair that lingered in her face and tucked it behind her ear.

''No idea what you're talking about.'' Sakura lied.

Karin clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. ''You know, I wouldn't mind having a boyfriend looking like him.'' Before Sakura could express her shock, a voice interrupted from somewhere behind her.

''D'you want a boyfriend?'' The two girls looked over at the owner of the voice. It was a nerdy looking freshman boy. His eyes were fixed on Karin, and his mouth was stretched into a hopeful grin, revealing his braces.

The senior only dryly responded with a, ''Walk away.''

The freshman gulped audibly and quickly obeyed.

''Well, that wasn't very nice.'' Sakura said. She felt slightly sorry for the boy.

''Oh come on, Sakura,'' Karin pursed her lips, ''He can handle it. And it'll only make him stronger in the end.'' the redhead finished dramatically. Sakura chuckled.

Silence fell between them. But it wasn't an awkward kind of silence; it was calm. Easy.

''You've changed, you know.'' Karin commented, fishing a rubber band out of her shoulder-bag. She grabbed two strands of hair and tied them on the back of her head.

Sakura looked up. ''What?''

''You've changed.'' The redhead repeated, now locking eyes with her friend.

''How do you mean?'' Sakura cocked her head to the side.

''You no longer have that miserable look in your eyes. You no longer look down all the time when you're walking or hunch up your shoulders. That stuff.'' Karin explained. She popped a bubble of bubblegum between her teeth and smiled a toothy grin down at the sophomore. Sakura smiled as well. Karin then jabbed her thumb in the direction of where Naruto was standing, talking to his friends. ''Is it because of him?''

''He really helped me.'' The girl brushed her bangs aside and cast the blond a glance. Despite her efforts of trying to be inconspicuous, though, the boy immediately looked around and caught sight of her. Karin had already turned back to her locker, innocently continuing what she had been doing. Sakura gulped and smiled at Naruto. He flashed her a toothy grin and waved before turning back to the guys he had been talking to. ''But I like him as a friend. Nothing more.''

''You keep telling yourself that, girl.'' Karin patted Sakura on the head before picking up her bag and swinging it over her shoulder. ''I'm going outside and smoke for a bit. You coming with me?''

''Sure.'' the pinkette shrugged.

Both of the girls headed outside and approached the group of smoking teenagers standing beside the school building. It was remarkable how they were all wearing their black clothing -more suited for fall- and still didn't appear to be sweating.

''Hey Karin, Sakura.'' Itachi greeted them. He brought his cigarette to his lips once more.

The red haired girl fished a cigarette of her own out of a carton package she found in her back pocket and waved it from right to left. ''Has anyone got a lighter?''

Somebody answered and passed her a red lighter. Sakura crinkled her nose at all of the fumes coming from the group of teenagers. The smell made her sick. Aunt Rose, from her mother's side, had been a chain smoker. Oh how Sakura had hated the weekends they spent at her house. Everything smelled of cigarettes. Even her dog.

Sakura snapped out of her memories when two girls walked past her. ''Oh my god, isn't that forehead?'' She could hear the brown-haired one of the two mutter at her friend. Sakura couldn't remember ever seeing them before. They appeared to be seniors.

''It is her!'' the other girl, a raven haired, somewhat chubbier girl giggled at her friend, loud enough for Sakura to hear. ''Now I see what everybody is talking about. Look at those skinny legs! Seriously!''

Sakura hung her head. Apparently, not everybody had stopped disliking her.

She looked up when she felt a feminine hand on her shoulder. It was Karin's. ''Okay, bitches,'' the girl pushed her glasses up her nose and placed a hand on her hip, her stance defensive. ''Two options. One; you walk on. Two; I'm coming after you and beating those pretty faces up 'till your own mommy won't recognise you anymore.''

The two girls jumped back at the threat, shot each other a quick glance and then walked on to join their friends on a bench a little farther up the path alongside the school building. All of the girls leaned in towards the girls and then all looked at Sakura and Karin over their shoulders.

When Sakura looked back at Karin's friends, she noticed they were still talking to each other. They either hadn't noticed anything of the commotion, or ignored it.

''Don't let those superficial bitches bring you down.'' Karin said, causing the junior to turn her head back to her. She flicked her hair and blew out a cloud of grey smoke.

''I always try.'' Sakura sighed. ''But it's hard. It's weird how they always say that words can't hurt people.''

''Meh, that must've been said by someone that's never been a teenager. Or at least has never gone through anything you did.''

''But you've gone through much worse stuff than me-.''

Karin shook her head. ''-Don't compare your pain to another person's. Pain is different for everyone. Gossip can hurt you as much as another person would be hurt by a nudge in the ribs.''

Sakura was quiet after hearing this, over thinking the senior's words. She took a bite from the sandwich she'd forgotten she was holding -it had her fingerprints pressed into it. Imagine how tightly she must have been holding it- and swallowed it down. ''Yes, you're right.'' she concluded then, ''Oh, and thank you... For standing up for me again, I mean.''

''That's okay.'' Karin said.

''Hey, Karin, what are your friends doing?'' Sakura said after a while. She pointed to the group of black clothed people a glance once more, slightly annoyed at how they were all huddled together in the shadows of the trees, seemingly trying to get away from the two -rather loud- girls.

Karin frowned in annoyance. ''Dunno.'' She walked towards one of the vending machines standing next to each other, against the school building, wiggled a coin out of a pocket from her hotpants and threw it into the slot. Then, after something crashed down with a loud 'thud', she walked back to Sakura. She had bought a bottle of water. ''They aren't really my friends, anyway. We just hang out together.''

''And smoke.'' Sakura added.

''Jup.''

''Who are you friends, then?''

''You.'' The redhead replied almost instantly, bringing the cigarette to her mouth casually.

Sakura couldn't stop the smile creeping it's way onto her face. She still got that warm feeling in her stomach every time somebody called her a friend of theirs.

''You've grown prettier, by the way.'' Karin complimented then all of a sudden, almost causing Sakura to choke on her sandwich.

''What?'' she coughed, giving herself some punches on the chest with her fist.

''I told you you've gotten prettier!'' the redhead repeated, smiling at the stupid picture. ''Is it because of you-know-who?'' Karin winked teasingly.

Sakura gulped. ''If you're talking about Naruto,'' she said his name in a hushed whisper, ''then NO.''

''Oh really?''

''Yeah really!''

''Hm.'' Karin clicked her tongue. ''Cause I don't remember you worrying about how your hair looked _before_ you befriended him.''

When the words finally clicked inside her head, the girl stopped fixing her hair, her arms lingering in mid-air. ''Shut up!''

The senior laughed in response.

* * *

''No, wait, Sam, get that out of your mouth-''

''-Whooyaaaa! Look at me, Sakura! I'm a cowboy!''

''Please get off my back first! No, Max, I told you I would get you some milk later.''

''But I want it now!''

''In a second! Ryan, get off my back and stop tugging my hair!''

''Horses don't talk!''

''I'm not a horse!''

Tired of all of the commotion, Sakura got on her feet, causing the little boy that had been sitting on her back to drop down on the floor. Her eyes trailed from left to right. From the mess in the living room to the mess in the hallway. From the mess in the kitchen to the mess in the dining room. Sakura had attempted to clean the house up for a bit, which was hard with three little boys buzzing around. one of them had actually jumped on her back when she got to her knees to gather the pieces of yet another shattered vase.

The Jones' kids were the most obstinate and bothersome kids Sakura had ever met. And she had to babysit three of them. At the same time. Not that the kids weren't sweet or anything. No, they were angels.

-Asleep then, of course.

''Okay, that's it!'' Sakura screamed on top of her lungs, causing the kids to stop whatever they were doing. ''Be good and help me clean the house. Then, when everything is tidied up, I will tell you a bedtime story.''

This was enough of a price for the little boys, for all three of them hurried off to get cleaning supplies. Sakura sighed in relief and placed a hand on her forehead. Luckily the three kids' parents were rich. They paid Sakura much more than the other families she babysat.

The moment of piece was disturbed as the three boys once more dashed into the room. The oldest of the three, Ryan and Max, appeared to be fighting over the vacuum cleaner.

Sakura rolled her sleeves up._ 'Duty calls.'_

* * *

After a lot of stressing, Sakura, along with the three kids, succeeded in cleaning the house before bedtime. The kids were now brushing their teeth in the bathroom, already clad in their pyjamas. Sakura sat on the rim of the bath, waiting for them to finish. When they did, she guided them to their beds and sat plopped down in a lime-green fatboy.

''Which story will you tell us tonight?'' said Sam, the youngest, almost strangling his teddy-bear in excitement. ''Does it have dragons?''

''-And magicians?'' Max added.

''Sure. I'll put in whatever you like.'' Sakura couldn't help but smile. These kids could be sweet. They really could.

The girl thought for a while. Then, she told them the story.

''Once upon a time, there lived a young miller in a tiny village built in a valley.'' she started. ''It was the friendliest village you can image, with wild flowers growing everywhere. And the grass was the most beautiful green colour you ever did see. A crystal clear creek streamed down from the mountains, so the people inhabiting the village had enough fish to fill their bellies with and enough water to swim around in all day. All the way on top of the mountain stood a huge castle-''

''-What was the name of the miller?'' Max interrupted al of a sudden.

Sakura, being caught up in the story she was telling, replied with a,''What? Oh, er-''

''-Can his name be Ryan?'' Ryan insisted. And with a sigh, Sakura agreed.

''Okay, so the miller Ryan hadn't always been a miller. The old miller and his wife had found him on their doorstep once, many years ago. He was a foundling. But since the miller and his wife had always wanted a child to inherit the mill, and they were getting very old already, they decided to raise the boy as their own son. There was only one thing very remarkable about Ryan.''

''What was it?'' The three boys called out simultaneously, leaning in towards Sakura slightly.

''He was very ugly.'' Sakura answered. ''But he was the kindest person to ever set foot on earth. And so, nobody of the village really minded his looks. It was a small town, and everybody knew each other. The villagers were as good as family.'' She leaned back so the back of her head rested against the wall. ''And then, one day, the old miller and his wife died both the same night, in their sleep. They had died a peaceful death, but still Ryan was filled with grief and loneliness from that moment on.''

''He missed his mommy and daddy?'' Sam asked, his small mouth pulled upwards in a sad pout.

''Yes, he did. But he didn't want to be lonely anymore. So when he was twenty years old, he thought it was about time for him to find a wife. He searched for a maiden to love all over the valley, but he couldn't find her. Every girl was either too old, too young or already married. And then, when he was exhausted from all of his searching and lay down flat on his back on the fresh grass. He found himself shivering. He wondered why. The sun had been beating down on him the entire day. Then, he noticed he was lying in the shadow. Not just any shadow, but the shadow of the huge castle in which the king lived. Ryan jumped up with a gasp. The princess! He had forgotten all about her!''

''No, not a story with a princess again. Those're for girls!'' Max groaned.

''This isn't just any story.'' Sakura said quickly, before the boys could start ravaging around the place for the second time that night. ''The princess is the bad guy here!'' That seemed to please the boys. They were focused on the story again. ''Ryan climbed all the way up to the castle, and knocked on the doors. Soon, the door was opened. ''What is the reason of your visit?'' the maid asked Ryan, studying his appearance from tip to toes. She crinkled her nose. Ryan didn't mind this. He figured the girl had never seen him before. He couldn't blame her.''

''Come on, Ryan! Give her a punch in the face!'' the real Ryan exclaimed, punching his fist into the air. Sakura giggled at the way the three boys were caught up in her story.

''He told the maid he was here to see the princess, and after a long talk, he was guided towards the princess's throne. He greeted the princess with a bow, although he could barely tear his eyes away from her beautiful face. He'd never seen such a beautiful person before, although her eyes were filled with hatred and unfriendliness. He didn't mind. He knew he was in love with her. When she asked him the reason of his visit, he could only shakily reply that he had come to ask her to marry him. At this, the princess let out a sarcastic cackle.

''You?'' she sneered. ''You? The most ugly person to ever enter this palace? You? With nothing to offer? Don't make me laugh!'''' Sakura coughed once, trying to clear her throat. ''Ryan didn't know what to say at this. ''That's true.'' he said. ''I have nothing to offer. But I can give you as much love as you could ever want from any other man.'' The princess only laughed harder at this.

''Tell you what,'' she said when her laughter had died down a bit. ''I can offer you this; if you manage to change your looks so you look less revolting, I will marry you.'''' Sakura pulled her knees up to her chest. ''Happy with this outcome of their conversation, Ryan left the castle and grabbed his stuff, put them in a knapsack and pulled open the door of his mill. He told everyone who listened that he was going to marry the princess.''

''Where was he going, then?'' Max asked.

''He was going to the silver magician, all the way down in the dark woods.'' Sakura explained ''There were several dangers and obstacles he had to cross, but he was willing to die for his princess. And so he traveled for days and days, crossed rivers, walked miles of grassland, endured uncomfortable heat and biting cold, only to find that after a week of walking, all of a sudden his way was blocked by a gigantic ravine. Tired and discouraged, Ryan sat down on the stone ridge of the ravine and gazed into the depth. He groaned and rested his face in his hands. Being the kind man he was, he wasn't angry. Only sad. And so he couldn't help but let one tear escape his eyes and slide down his face, only do drip into the depth of the canyon. Hardly a minute later, an enormous dragon flew up from the canyon, it's huge wings merely a blur. Ryan was startled by the huge beast, and couldn't help but fall on his back in shock.

''Fear not.'' The dragon spoke then. He landed on the rocks beside Ryan. ''Just as I was flying the stream in the depth of the canyon and opened my mouth to drink some water, a drop fell down from here and landed on my tongue. I figured I should go and see whether I could help the person that had shed this tear. I can look into your heart, and I see that you are a good person. Can I help you?''

''Yes,'' Ryan replied, ''I would like to cross this ravine.'' And so he flew to the other side of the canyon on the back of the dragon, thanked the beast and continued on his way. Quickly, he arrived at the dark woods. The entire forest consisted of dead, leafless trees that were so old that their crooked branches entwined with each other, the entire thing forming a maze. After trying out different paths for a long time, Ryan finally reached the middle of the woods, where the biggest, ugliest tree stood proudly. There was a hole cut into it, looking somewhat like a doorway. Not forgetting his manners, Ryan knocked on the side of the tree.

''Yes?'' a shaky voice asked. At this, Ryan walked through the doorway. He now stood inside of the three. It was furnitured, with many bookcases, stuffed with books in all sizes and coloures, a small, wooden table and an old-looking bed. On a chair next to the table sat an old man. He appeared to be made out of wood, his features engraved in the timber.

''My name is Ryan. I have come to-''

The man looked up tiredly. ''Let me guess.'' the man wheezed. ''You want me to change your appearance.''

''How did you know?'' Ryan gasped in shock, at which the old, wooden man laughed.

''I know all. Now, let's fix you up then, shan't we?''

''You are going to help me?'' Ryan asked him, unable to suppress the surprised, hopeful tone in his voice.

''Of course. If that's what you desire.'' The man got up and walked over towards one of the bookcases, the places where his feet touched the ground cracking like old twigs. He pulled an old, red book out from between the others and opened it. Apparently, he had opened it on the right page because the man cleared his throat, rose his hand up to summon his scepter and then spoke a few strange words in a language Ryan didn't recognise.

''Now.'' the silver magician spoke when he appeared to be finished with whatever he was doing. Go outside, lay down on the ground and fall asleep. You shall awake in your own bed.''

Ryan was surprised at this. He didn't feel any different. He decided to just trust the man. ''Do I not need to pay you?''

''No. To see there's still people left with hearts as pure as yours is my payment. Now go.'' As Ryan went outside and lay down on the grass, he didn't notice the old man staring at him from the doorway, shaking his head. ''Poor boy. He will soon see that true beauty is only found within.''

Ryan woke up the next morning, feeling slightly disorientated. That was, of course, until he recognised the familiar smell of burnt wood and grain. He was home. It all came back to him now. He got onto his feet and stumbled over to the mirror hanging from the wall. An entirely different face stared back at him. He had to pinch himself to see if he wasn't dreaming. Too excited to remember to change his clothes, he ran outside to go show his face to the princess. He ran all the way to the top of the mountain and burst through the palace doors. ''Princess!'' he called. ''Princess! It is me, I have come! I changed my face! Marry me, please!'' Immediately, the guards ran towards him and prevented him from going any farther. This didn't stop him from shouting. ''Princess! It is me!''

Awakened by all of the commotion, the princess appeared at the stairs in her nightgown. She looked down at the man, puzzled. Then everything seemed to click. She recognised the miller. Not his face, no, not that. The face he wore now was absolutely beautiful. It was the filthy clothes he wore. She didn't want to marry a miller. She didn't want to spend the rest of her live working in a mill. And so she looked down at the man surrounded by the guards in pure disgust and broke her promise. ''I have not seen this man before in my life. Kill him.''

Ryan looked up in shock. He couldn't believe a person could be this evil. He knew she recognised him. And so he fled. He climbed down the mountain, the guards in tow. Luckily he was a good climber. Fast, too. And so the guards soon had to give up pursuing him.

Heartbroken, he went back to his mill. He married a chubby, poor, but overall kindhearted woman and lived happily ever after. He never thought about the princess even once. Such an ugly and rotten person didn't deserve a second of anyone's time.'' Sakura took a deep breath. That sure was a long story.

The actual ending had been one in which the miller was killed by the guards, but seeing as how the kids were very young, she doubted they could handle it. Speaking of which-. Sakura looked around the room.

All three boys were sound asleep, their faces peaceful. Sakura giggled softly, and then stood up when she heard the distant sound of a door being opened downstairs and two chattering people entering the house. The girl tip-toed out of the room and closed the door behind her. Then she walked down the spiraling stairs to go and greet the parents.

''Hello, Sakura!'' Mr Jones slurred, appearing a bit tipsy.

''How where the kids?'' Mrs Jones asked.

''Hello! They were angels, really. Was the party fun?''

''Look at Marc. He certainly had fun- Oh, and the house is so clean as well! Did you clean it again?''

''Er...''

''You have to stop doing that, silly.'' the woman gave Sakura a playful push. ''We don't pay you for that!''

''It's okay.'' the pinkette stammered.

''Well, here, keep the change.'' slurred Mr Jones, giving her a random bill from his wallet. Sakura gulped when she noticed it was a bill of five-hundred. She tried to wiggle it into his hands, but the man objected.

''Go on, Sakura. Keep it.'' Mrs Jones said encouragingly. ''We've heard you have some financial problems lately. This can help.''

''Oh, really. It's okay-''

''-Keep it.''

Sakura sighed and then smiled up at the two adults. ''Then thank you. I'm sure this will help.''

''It's okay, sugar.'' Mrs Jones smiled, and then she held the door open for the girl. Sakura walked through and giggled as Mr Jones' voice singing Christmas songs wafted out through the door, mixing with the quiet of the night. Then, the door slammed shut. Sakura was now left alone with the star-filled sky and the dark silhouettes that filled the villa quarter.

She smiled down at the hand she knew a five-hundred dollar bill rested in, her fingers clamped tightly around it. The Jones' household might be a busy one, but each and every family member was kind and generous, always trying to help others out as much as they could.

The soft beeping of her cellphone then startled her. She got it out of her bag and checked the screen.

_'New message' _blinked on and off on the screen. Sakura opened the message and smiled.

_'Incoming message. Sent: 11:30 pm. Message: Hey, I got your cell number from that girl Karin. How r you? What r you doing tonight? X Naruto.'_

Sakura couldn't help but feel her cheeks grow warmer at the letter 'X'.

She knew it was just quick messaging language, but still. A kiss was a kiss, right?

The girl's face then scrunched up as she realised what she was thinking. She reminded herself of some lovesick nine year old.

She turned her face towards the starlit sky.

Okay, so maybe she _was _crushing on Naruto.

But only a little.

* * *

_The story Sakura told Ryan, Max and Sam is a story my dad once told me. He used to tell me stories he made up himself all the time. And now, I'm telling you._

_Please review! I'd love to hear what you think, if there's anything you want to know, an idea to make my story better, any idea of your own or, heck, even if you've done something fun in the time I spent studying. I just love hearing from you guys!_

_~Lion3queen_


	12. Room

_I can't believe how ridiculously long it's been! I'm so ashamed! In my defense, though, I was really busy. I originally planned for this to be uploaded on Christmas day, go figure! And the chapter was even longer originally. I split it in half so I could at least give you guys this._

_I'd like to thank all of you for reading my story, and also I'd like to congratulate **twinkletoast** with her birthday! I hope I made it in time._

_I'd love to have you guys opinion on the following: I'd like to change my user name! What do you guys think of **Springflake**? It's got a cute ring to it, hasn't it?_

* * *

Imagine an enormous, white mansion.

It's got a pool in the back yard, four cars parked in it's garage and, to top it off, huge balconies on each level.

Well, the picture you have in your mind right now is bound to look somewhat like the Yamanaka's house. Yes, that means it's Ino Yamanaka's, as well.

You see, her father owned a big business, resulting in them now being one of Konoha's most prestigious families.

Oh, speaking of the devil. There she is.

Do you see her? On the third-story balcony, partly hidden behind that bright pink parasol?

Yes, well, this is what she usually does when it's a sunny, warm Friday afternoon and all of her friends are out doing- well, whatever they did when they weren't around her. She sits there, feet pulled up onto the stone railing, sunglasses placed on her nose, a smoothie in her hand and a Cosmo-Girl in her lap.

For a second, the girl appeared to be asleep. The opposite was proved, though, when she raised her hand and uncurled her fingers from around her iPod. Then, she picked out a new song and returned to her previous position.

Her and Sakura used to do this together almost every Friday. Well, before... You know.

The blonde huffed audibly and sipped some strawberry smoothie up through the straw in her drink.

Sometimes, she wondered how things had gotten this far. But only when she didn't have anything to distract her.

I suppose you want to hear Ino's side of the story now, huh?

Well, I don't blame you.

Ino remembered it like it was yesterday; the day she first went to high school as a freshman.

The scent of the cigarette fumes, the many students (they had all seemed so old back then!) and the school, so big when she compared it to her middle school. It had all been so overwhelming!

_''Like a movie.'' _she remembered Sakura sighing back then.

Both of them had been awkward girls, on the bridge of puberty. Both had been small and insignificant in comparison to the other students. But most of all, they had both been best friends. And they had remained like this, for about six months after they started high school.

Both girls were getting pretty popular. They knew about everyone in their class from middle school, and quickly befriended most of their new classmates. There was a certain group of girls, though, that Ino in particular seemed to get along with fine. They didn't like Sakura much.

That's where it started.

''Hey, Ino?'' she remembered the prettiest one of the three, Jessica, start once, during a sleepover. Ino had been admiring herself in the mirror. She cast Jessica a look over her shoulder. ''Well, do you really hang out with that girl Sakura?''

''Yes,'' another one of the girls threw in, ''I mean, I have nothing against her but... I dunno. She's kinda weird, don't you think?'' the girl, Christine, had ran a hand through her hair and looked away. ''I mean, pink hair?''

Ino had grown slightly anxious. She made sure nobody could tell, but deep down inside she was slightly insecure._'What's wrong with Sakura? She's totally normal, isn't she?'_ had ran through her head.

''It's natural, you know. Her hair colour.'' Ino had stammered in a miserable attempt to defend her best friend. ''But anyhow, what's wrong with her according to you, besides her hair?''

''I dunno.'' Jessica had started once again. ''I mean, the way she always, like, throws her hand up in the air whenever a teacher asks a question. Kind of nerdy, don't you think?''

''Oh yes, very nerdy.'' her two companions echoed.

The days after that sleepover, Ino had over thought what the three girls had said. Was it true what they said?

What if Sakura became unpopular all of a sudden, could Ino remain friends with her? She wasn't sure. Not at all.

You see, being popular meant a lot to her. It meant the _world_to her. If, one day, a few people were mean to her or ignored her, sleeping for her at night was hard. And so Ino became more and more absentminded whenever Sakura talked to her, and focused on all of the things others might find weird about her friend. She had a few annoying habits that were like a thorn in the eye to Ino. Some habits were so irritating that she wondered how she could have not have noticed them before. Like the way Sakura always pursed her lips in this annoying know-it-all manner whenever anyone said anything that wasn't correct, or the way she paraded around with that arrogant expression on her face. Or her annoyingly huge forehead. Or the way she was really skinny. Or the way she mistreated Naruto all the time-.

Ino had started talking to Naruto more and more ever since the start of the school year. He was actually pretty funny at times, although he was still pretty small and had yet to hit puberty. His crush on Sakura, the one he had had their entire middle school period, had faded and now he actually joined Ino in listing all of Sakura's bad qualities. Other people had picked up on this, and started talking to _their _friends about it.

Ino felt slightly bad for her, but hey, she was weird. Right? She deserved this. Right? It was _her_ that had been the bitch._ Right?  
_  
Right.

* * *

''Okay. So how do we start?'' Naruto asked awkwardly.

''Just straighten your back.'' Sakura shook her head. ''No, your stance is too stiff. Relax. Here, take my hand.''

The two teens were standing in Sakura's rather large living room, the afternoon light seeping in through the windows. It reflected on the white furniture and made the whole room glow. It was Friday, and the weather was even hotter than yesterday, making it hard for both of them to concentrate.

Sakura had taken the cd-player from her room -it was entirely pink and had purple flower stickers stuck onto it, design á la Barbie- and placed it on a cabinet in the living room. It was from Sakura's narrow-minded almost-teenage girl fase. Then she had, under Naruto's loud voice giving her instructions on which station was the coolest, picked out some trendy radio station -she had intentionally picked the one Naruto told her he didn't like, because she loved the face he pulled when he didn't get what he wanted; he changed from a sixteen year old boy into a five year old kid that had just been told by his mom that he wasn't going to get that firetruck he wanted- and started teaching him.

So now here they were, clumsily trying to keep their balance on a beautiful Friday afternoon that should be spent in the pool. That's what Naruto figured, anyway.

Not that Sakura was pleased with the lessons, though. They weren't going that well with her poor teaching skills and Naruto being, well, Naruto.

Luckily she was in a good mood. Well, who wouldn't be amused when they were allowed to look at an awkward teenage boy stumbling around and making a fool out of himself? Sakura certainly was.

She snickered softly as Naruto tripped over a cable and gripped the curtain so he wouldn't crash onto the floor. Then he tried getting up, knocking over a lamp.

_'How is that even possible? All I did was tell him to take my hand!' _Sakura silently asked herself, failing miserably in wiping the smirk off her face. She was about to speak those thoughts when Naruto turned his head, sending her a I-don't-know-what-you're-going-to-say-but-you'd-better-keep-your-trap-shut-if-you-don't-want-me-to-clean-up-the-mess-I'm-making-this-afternoon-with-your-face glare. So she obeyed and averted her eyes, pretending the couch was a much more interesting object to watch.

''Okay, let's try this again.'' she tried after a few minutes, sadly still not able to keep her mouthcorners from twitching upwards every time she looked at Naruto. ''Calm down. Don't be scared you're going to trip or you really will. No, don't laugh. It's what happens.'' Naruto rolled his eyes and placed his hand on Sakura's waist. Then he held out his other hand, gesturing for her to put hers in it. ''Okay,'' Sakura continued after she had placed her own smaller hand in his -her face grew slightly red as she realised how perfectly it fit there- and put her other one on his shoulder. ''Now we just d- oh wait!'' the girl freed herself and hit the button on the radio so, after a short time of cracking, an entirely other song started playing. A slower song. ''We're practicing the waltz,'' she explained, ''so we need slow music.''

Naruto shrugged. ''Whatever.'' He said after they had taken their former positions once more and started slowly swaying around.

''Okay.'' Sakura replied, mimicking his bored tone. ''Hey, you don't _have_ to be here.'' she remembered him, to which he slapped his forehead and gasped,

''Seriously? Well, then I'm off.''

Sakura chuckled and stomped his foot lightly. ''I'm in a perfect position to hurt you, you know.''

''Really? Then what're you planning to do, shorty?'' He retorted, arching one blond eyebrow.

''I'm not short, you're just enormous.'' Sakura stuck her tongue out at him.

''How old are you, five?'' Naruto muttered, but it was obvious he didn't mean it. He smiled, making the dimples in his scarred cheeks appear once more.

They continued swaying to the music, and although Naruto still appeared a bit nervouw and tripped over his own feet -although he tried to cover that up by pretending he did it on purpose- he got the hang of it fast. Soon they were really dancing, with no mistakes. No stumbling. Naruto just grinned that cheeky grin of his at her, having more fun dancing as he became better at it. And Sakura smiled back up at him. Because the person that didn't find his smiles addictive had yet to be born.

Sakura reached up and brushed a sunshine blond bang out of his eyes without realising what she was doing. Only then it occurred to her that they were close. _Really_ close.

And that she'd just yesterday found out she might have a little crush on the boy she was so close to at that moment.

And that that boy didn't like her like that at all.

And so she forced to look away from those oceanic blue eyes and glue her eyes onto the wall behind him. But it was hard, because she could smell his scent (Why did he smell like fruit? How was that possible?) and she knew that, even though she wasn't looking at him anymore, she could feel him looking at _her_. Perhaps he was looking down at her weirdly, wondering why she refused to look at him in the face.

The other day the girl had made up her mind. She wouldn't act upon her little crush. Because that was all it was. Nothing big. Just hormones. She finally had a few friends and she didn't want to lose one of them because of something stupid like this. She would just ignore her feelings, and try to start crushing on Sasuke again.

It was weird how little she had daydreamed of Sasuke lately. She used to do that twice a day. Now that number had decreased to, what, once a month? And that was when she remembered. Because the raven haired boy was, to be honest, the last thing that was on her mind lately.

Maybe she was stupid. Maybe her mind was so small there was only enough space for one person at a time.

-And that thought brought her back to Naruto. Yippee.

_'Naruto...'_ she mused, not sure whether she felt bitter or giddy when she thought of that name.

''What is it?'' A voice piped up into her ear, sounding quite creeped out.

''Er, what?''

''You said my name.''

_Crap. _

''No I didn't.''

''Yes you did.''

''Not everyone spends their entire day daydreaming about you.'' Sakura remarked, feeling like a dumb hypocrite.

''They don't?'' Naruto smirked.

''You should really do something about that insignificant self-confidence.'' the pinkette rolled her eyes.

The boy smiled a toothy smile down at her, ''Touché.''

* * *

Sakura stared down at the assignment she was making with stern eyes, forcing herself to concentrate. She could not fail this. She was the best student in her math class. So how was it possible that every single one of her classmates had the assignment finished already, while her own pencil was still lingering above the paper uselessly?

Sakura swallowed back a grunt.

She couldn't concentrate. She saw the numbers and the problems, but they didn't click inside her head. Sakura closed her eyes. The plus- and minus signs danced on the back of her eyelids.

Why couldn't she just concentrate? Really, all that was inside her head was Naruto.

She rested her head on the palm of her hand with a huff and looked outside. Yellow was everywhere. Sunlight.

That second the bell rang. Sakura bit back a squeek when, as always, the classroom erupted in chattering, the screeching sound of chairs being pulled back, the sounds of zippers, footsteps on the linoleum and finally the slamming of the classroom door.

''Don't forget, problems 30 and 32 are due tomorrow!'' the teacher, Mr Sarutobi, called after the swarm of students rather pointlessly.

It was Monday, and Sakura found herself having more trouble to be cheerful after a long, amazing weekend than usual. The other students appeared to have no trouble with this at all. Of course, here and there people complained about how fast the weekend had flown by, but still. They were busy as ever.

The dancing lessons on Friday hadn't gone that well. Not that Naruto and Sakura didn't have lots of fun, but the dancing part still didn't go perfectly.

...Okay, that was an understatement.

Sakura snickered softly at the memory of Naruto's clumsy antics.

''Oh, hello, Sakura.'' Mr Sarutobi greeted her when he noticed the soft giggling coming from the right side of the classroom. ''Come on, hand your assignment over. I'm sure you did great like always.'' he pushed his chair back and walked over to Sakura's seat. He motioned for her to give him the leaflet but, when she didn't appear to be planning to hand it to him after a few seconds, grabbed it with his bony fingers and attempted to pull it away from her.

Sakura didn't let go of the paper but only gripped it tighter. She groaned, ''Please, Mr Sarutobi... Let me finish it!''

''I'm sorry, Sakura. It would be unfair for the other students.'' The old man shook his head and, after wringing the assignment out of his student's grasp walked back to his desk.

''They'll never find out!'' Sakura tried, ''If you don't tell them, I won't either.''

''Out.'' the man said simply, gesturing towards the door. Sakura didn't bother to act as if she was pleased with this answer. With crossed arms and heavy steps she trudged out of the classroom, too busy glaring at everything she saw to notice Mr Sarutobi staring at her from behind his desk, shaking his head in spite and asking himself what could have happened to his straight-A student in the past weeks.

Sakura opened her locker and dumped her books into it, a sour look upon her usually pretty face. She wished one ruined test wouldn't be able to have this effect on her.

''Hey Sakura.'' somebody called out to her, to which Sakura narrowed her eyes.

''WHAT?'' she snapped, right into the face of-

Crap.

There stood Karin, one red eyebrow raised in question. ''Whoa, what's wrong with you?''

''I'm sorry...'' Sakura apologised, tugging at a pink bang that hung in her line of vision. ''I just screwed an important test up. And I mean _really_ badly.''

''That's okay, it'd be weird if you couldn't be a bitch too, once in a while. Why'd only I get to have fun?'' Karin replied, curling the corners of her red lips up into a smile. She leaned back against the locker next to Sakura's, arms folded. ''By the way,'' she started after a short silence in which Sakura tried not to stomp herself for just exploding against one of her only friends for something so entirely stupid. ''How about me coming over to your place today?''

''My- house?'' Sakura asked slowly.

''Yeah, you know, the place you live in?'' Karin asked teasingly.

''I know what a house is!'' Sakura replied, giving her friend a playful push. ''But I mean, it's Monday! Are you sure you want to come today? I have to babysit this afternoon.''

''Of course,'' Karin said, full lips pulled up into a pout, ''I'm great with kids!''

Sakura had a hard time believing the redhead's last statement. On the other side, though, babysitting with another person instead of alone could be fun.

And so she replied with a smile.

All of a sudden, an arm appeared out of nowhere, slid around her neck and pulled her down. ''Hey there, Sakura!''

Sakura laughed and tried pushing the arm off her, but the result was that the person only grabbed her tighter and now also ruffled her hair with their fist. ''Quit it, Naruto!'' she squeaked, ''I'm really not in the mood.'' because really, who else in the world had such an annoying boyishly squeeky voice?

Upon hearing his name, the male released her from his grasp. ''How'd you know it was me?''

''I'm psycic.'' Sakura replied snippily, trying to get her hair back into it's usual style.

''She's cranky because she's screwed up a Math test.'' Karin explained when Naruto shot her a puzzled look.

''Never had a pass mark?'' the blond asked, now turning to Sakura again. ''Do you want one of mine?'' he fished a random, crumpled sheet of paper out of his bag and held it out to her. It had a huge 'D-' written on it with a red marker.

''No thank you.'' Sakura replied drily. She glanced at the spot where Karin had been standing, only to find the redhead had disappeared. Sakura suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Her friend must have wanted to give her some 'alone time' with Naruto. That traitor.

Speaking of whom...

Her eyes trailed back to her blond friend. He studied her, blue eyes suspicious.

''What is it?'' She asked.

''You did this weird eye thing.'' he said.

''No I didn't. Shut up.'' Sakura replied childishly, pouting. Naruto was about to comment something -something troublesome, knowing him- when a tall figure appeared in the middle of the mass of students filling the hallway. A large number of the students forming the thong immediately took a run for it, giving the looming figure some space. This, Sakura knew, could only mean one thing. Because there was only one person that was feared by the entire student body.

Janitor Danzo.

''Quick, hide me!'' Naruto yelped after he had followed her gaze and spotted the middle-aged man. He tried to stuff himself into Sakura's locker. She would have laughed if she had the time for it. Sadly, though, at that moment Danzo had recognised Naruto and stomped his way over to him.

He pointed at the blond with a swing of his broom -knocking a few freshmen over in the process- and barked, ''Uzumaki! Why weren't you in detention last Friday?'' Naruto just stood there and gulped audibly, his once tanned face growing paler by the second. Sakura made a mental note to ask him why he was so scared of the janitor.

''I...'' He faltered, his voice strangely high-pitched.

''SHUT UP!'' Danzo interrupted him. He put the end of his broom on the teenage boy's throat, brought his face close to Naruto's and spat, ''You'd better show up next time, Uzumaki. You know what I do to annoying, ignorant ants,'' to emphasize this sentence, the man lifted his foot off the floor and crushed an ant that had been walking the linoleum unsuspectingly. ''I squash them.'' Then he gave the blond's collar a hard tug and stalked off in the direction of the restrooms.

''Are janitors even allowed to students?'' Naruto muttered, eyes wide from shock.

''Told you you should have gone to detention.'' Sakura rolled her eyes and leaned back against her locker with crossed arms, ignoring the blond's last comment.

''Shut up. Only 12 percent of the student body given detention to ever attends it. It's just a coincidence that I ran into him when you were around.''

''Sure. Although I do get the feeling you're making up that percentage just to win this argument.''

''You can't prove anything. Now, let's go to the canteen.'' He clamped his fingers around the pink haired girl's arm and dragged her to the big doors farther down the hall, out of which floated more chattering and laughing noises than could be heard in the hallways altogether.

''I really don't want to go there, Naruto.'' Sakura tried as she attempted to free herself from the iron grip the blond currently had on her arm. ''Really, I mean it.''

''Don't be a baby.'' He pushed the doors open and dragged the scrawny girl with him, limp like a doll. Then he pushed her down on one of the tables, a bit more in the back of the huge room, and sat down beside her.

''I'm serious, Naruto. I don't want to be here.''

''Why not?''

Sakura lowered her gaze to her entwined fingers, resting in her lap.

''You aren't still bothered by that canteen scene from a while ago, are you?'' He asked her disbelievingly. Naruto interpret the silence coming from Sakura as a yes. ''Come on, it was just a punch. We talked about it, remember? Besides, you don't really hit all that hard.''

''Liar.'' Sakura replied smiling, instantly feeling a lot more comfortable.

Naruto rolled his eyes and took a bag of chips out of his bag. He pondered over what he had told Sakura. How punching him really hadn't been that much of a big deal. Had he just told her that to comfort her or had he really meant it?

The more he thought about it, the more he came to the conclusion that he really didn't worry about the canteen scene from a while ago anymore. He was over it.

...And _that _made him wonder whether what he was doing; the pretending to be Sakura's friend thing, was okay. He wasn't even sure whether he wanted to anymore.

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts when Sakura tapped him on the arm. ''Hey, I was wondering... This Friday you have a football game, right?''

''Er, yeah, I do.''

''What would you think if I'd come and watch?''

''You mean, you'd like to see one of my games?'' Naruto exclaimed, a lot more enthusiastic than Sakura had expected him to be. ''For real?''

''Yeah! I've gotten really curious.''

''Awesome! Be there!''

''Okay, okay! I promise!''

''Seriously, if you aren't there, I'm coming over to drag you there in person.''

Sakura giggled. She loved feeling appreciated. ''Don't worry. I'll be there.'' The pinkette took a sip from the bottle of water she had stalled on the table. ''Who are you guys up against, anyway?''

''Sound High.''

''Are they good?''

''Nothing we can't handle.''

''Hm-hm.'' She confirmed. ''I heard you guys are really good.''

''Well, I don't wanna brag or something... But yeah, we're the best.''

Sakura chuckled and punched him on the shoulder softy.

At that moment the bell rang.

* * *

Sakura gathered the notes she needed for her homework and slammed her locker shut. When she turned around, clumsily trying to stuff her notes into her bag, a muggy breath of wind hit her in the face. The doors leading to the schoolyard were open, probably to support the aeration of the building. Needless to say, the opposite was going on.

Sakura loosened the collar of the top she wore.

The majority of the students had left already, luckily. Because she was sure they wouldn't have helped the temperature. Was it just Sakura, or did the pupil population really grow to an almost ridiculous number?

She shrugged and started walking towards the visible schoolyard, yellow from all of the sunlight beaming down onto the cobblestone path that meandered to a destination that was hidden behind the many trees. Karin and she had agreed to meet each other at the fountain. And yes, Sakura quickly recognised the crimson haired figure sitting beside the splashing water. The pinkette quickly escaped the trees' shade and crossed the small stone lawn to greet her friend. ''Hello!'' She yelled.

''There you are, I was wondering if you'd already left. Of course you wouldn't.'' Karin said, getting up from the light yellow ridge she had been sitting on after spotting the pink haired girl skipping her way over to her.

''Well, actually I hoped you wouldn't be here so I could go to the kid I babysit without you noticing me, but yeah, let's tell ourselves that.'' Sakura replied teasingly with a roll of her eyes.

''Where does the kid live anyway?'' Karin asked her friend after chuckling at Sakura's previous comment. They both started walking towards the buss stop just outside the gates.

''The middle school in the centre of town. The house where she lives is kind of small, so I thought we could maybe take her to the park? She always loves that.''

''Sounds cool to me.'' Karin replied. Both girls noticed the buss to the centre of town appearing from around a corner and approaching them swiftly. ''What's her name, anyway?''

Sakura waved for the buss driver to stop. ''Olivia.''

* * *

The two teenagers sat on a wooden bench, the afternoon sunlight warming up their bare legs, as they watched little children play on the tiny playground across the stretch of grass. Rosewood Park was filled with young lovers, joggers and mothers pushing prams. It was crowded, especially for a Monday. But the people didn't seem to mind. They knew that summer vacation was approaching.

That's right, summer vacation was only two weeks away now.

Karin leaned back against the wooden bench and closed her eyes. ''This is nice.''

Sakura agreed wholeheartedly.

Harrison Park was a tiny park in the middle of the business district of Konoha, surrounded by skyscrapers. It was small, but because of it's location, it was really popular. It was easy to reach by buss, taxi or subway. People that worked in the neighbourhood often went to Harrison park to have lunch or to get away from all of the pressure for a while.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence -well, between the two girls. Silence was the last thing that one could expect in a busy park like this one- Karin's voice once more filled Sakura's ears. ''So how are things going between you and you-know-who?''

''Who?'' Sakura asked her friend, her spine tensing up.

''Your boyfriend, Naruto.'' Well, Karin either didn't catch the hint or ignored it. Sakura guessed that presumably the latter was going on, seeing as how Karin really wasn't an oblivious person.

''For the last time, he really isn't my boyfriend!''

_'...yet.'_Sakura swore she could almost _hear_ Karin finish in her head. ''You are not going to tell me nothing happened between you and him Friday.''

Right, Friday.

''Nothing did, really. I thought him how to waltz -or at least tried to. Honestly, he is one hopeless case.''

''Well, that only means nothing changed in the way _you_ see_ him_. And that wasn't really necessary, seeing as how you're already head over heels with him.''

Sakura was afraid she was going to vomit her stomach out. ''_Excuse me?_''

''Come on, girl. You aren't going to deny it, are you?'' But without awaiting a reply, she continued, ''And come on, you are the worst liar I've ever met. You keep on glancing at him whenever he's around, and when he talks to you you instantly start smiling-''

''-I don't do that!'' Sakura retorted lamely.

''Yes, you do. Chewing gum?''

Sakura nodded and grabbed a piece of bubblegum from the package her friend held out to her and put it in her mouth. ''So are you going to do anything fun this summer vacation?'' She asked, inwardly begging Karin to drop the subject. The redhead must have had some mercy, because she answered her question.

''Nah, working, probably.''

''Why?''

''Well, I've lived in a house with other people for a while. Other people that couldn't live with their parents. I was the only one that came there willingly, though. Anyhow, it's getting too expensive to live there.''

''I'm sorry...'' Sakura muttered, uncertain whether this was a touchy subject. She cursed herself for asking her friend exactly this.

''That's okay.'' Karin replied, and Sakura dared to look up again. She admired Karin's strength so much. ''What are you going to do this summer?''

''Not much.'' She sighed. ''What are you going to study after summer?'' Karin had had finals earlier that year and, to her own surprise, passed each and every one of them. Not that she wasn't intelligent or anything- she'd just skipped lots and lots of lessons. Nobody would have been surprised to learn Karin had failed her finals. Which was exactly what got the redhead so excited whenever anybody mentioned it. Sakura felt like a bad friend when she realised she had never asked Karin about her future plans even once. ''You're going to college, aren't you?''

To her surprise, Karin laughed and shook her head, ''In my dreams!'' Sakura cocked her head to the side. ''My parents have saved up quite some money, and they insist I take it. But I haven't got a clue what I'd wanna do. Or whether I even want to go to college.''

''But your grades are really good, aren't they?''

''Yes, but I mean- I'm only seventeen! I can't believe they expect me to have my entire life planned out by now.''

''That's not what I meant. You could get a scholarship!'' Sakura exclaimed, pretty pleased with herself. ''That way your parents won't lose money if the profession you're studying for isn't to your liking!''

''That's a really good idea!'' Karin gasped, her hand subconsciously moving up to her mouth. She obviously hadn't thought of that option yet. ''You know, I've always wanted to go to college some place far away. Like Paris!''

''Oh, Paris! That would be amazing!'' Sakura sighed. ''Or Rome!''

''Rome... Or Venetia! I wonder where the pizzas are the best.''

''Venetia, without a doubt.'' Sakura agreed, although she had never been in either town. Her opinion was based on what she had heard from people who had been there. ''But then again, that probably depends on the pizzeria you go to.''

''Probably.''

''You could, you know. You could go anywhere.''

When Sakura didn't get a reply from her friend for several seconds, she stole a glance at her from the corner of her eyes. She had put her arms behind her head, and her lips were curled up in a smile. She looked up at the sky. ''What about you? What do you wanna do when you're out of here?'' She asked suddenly, meeting Sakura's gaze.

''I want to be a doctor.'' She replied almost instantly.

''Awesome.''

''Really?''

''Yeah! It really suits you! You're always so nice and responsible. I still don't get why everybody's so mean to you at school.''

Sakura bit her lip.

It was time to tell Karin everything. She really wanted somebody to know- well, _everything_, and not to judge her for it. And Karin wasn't a judgemental person. You wouldn't say so, with her tough looks and harsh comments, but she was one of the nicest people Sakura had ever met. And she had met a lot of people.

''I have to tell you something.''

Sakura couldn't hold everything in any longer. She couldn't bear finally having a friend and still carrying her sorrows along like a huge pile of luggage. Everywhere she went, everything she did, there was always this slight anxiety she took with her. Just telling Karin everything would surely be such a relief. Not to mention, she would be able to help- to _listen_.

And so she told her everything. About how she was at middle school. About the start of high school. About how everybody had distanced themselves from her. About the bullying. About the fight between her parents Sakura had walked in on, the way her father had left, how her mother had just been sitting on a chair the entire time, unable to do anything else. The way Sakura had worked so very hard to pay the rent. It seemed like ages ago, that day Sakura had returned home to find her mother wasn't responding. How she called 911. How the principal told her her mother was going away for a while. And yet it still hurt as much as when she first heard it.

The wall Sakura had built around herself crumbled down, piece by piece, until Sakura felt as if there was no more load. No weight tugging at her heart, nothing quietly following along, looming over her whenever she wasn't looking, like a stormy cloud. There was no hidden pain anymore. Just sadness.

Karin had been listening in silence the entire time, only giving slight nods to let Sakura know she understood. And then, when Sakura was finally done talking and rested her head in her palms, she blew out whatever amount of air she had in her lungs and said, ''That is quite something.''

''It's nothing in comparison to what happened to you, but... I just- I guess I just felt like you should know.'' Sakura's voice sounded muffled because of her hands covering her mouth.

''What did I tell you about comparing your pain to others'? If I'm honest, I think that you are the strong one here. Always taking care of others before yourself, never wanting anything in return... And even when your mother says you are a bother, you're still not angry. Only sad. You must- you must be one of the strongest persons I've met.'' With every word that left Karin's mouth, Sakura straightened her back a little bit more, until she was sitting up entirely. She looked at her friend, green eyes wide with happiness at those words.

''I'm glad.'' Sakura said, unable to keep herself from laughing. ''I'm so glad to have met you.''

''Of course! We're friends, right?'' Karin said, and she held her hand up for a high-five. Sakura slapped it with her own.

''Just so you know, if you don't succeed in getting a job or something, you could always go live in my house. It's too big for me, and now that my parents are gone, I have three empty bedrooms.''

That sentence didn't hurt as much as Sakura would have guessed. Who knows, she might be getting over it. Slowly, yes, but at some point she might... Just put everything behind her.

She couldn't stay sad for ever, now could she? Especially now that it seemed like everything was finally falling into place.

It seemed like, for once in her life, Karin found herself speechless. ''That would be... Awesome. Thanks, girl.''

Sakura smiled, her eyes trailed over to a reggae band that played cheerful songs a bit farther up the path. A small audience had gathered around it. Then she looked back at the spot where her eyes had been glued on moments before. A tiny figure with pigtails, playing with other kids on the green jungle gym that stood next to the iron slide, waved at her enthusiastically. Sakura smiled and waved back at the girl.

Olivia was a great kid. Quiet and a bit shy, but with a sense of humour that was amazing for a child her age. Also, she had huge blue eyes that even Ino would have been jealous of.

A middle aged woman walked up to the jungle gym, and soon the kids Olivia had been playing with jumped down into the sand and bid her goodbye before walking off with who Sakura presumed was their mother. She was alone now.

Sakura found it a sad sight, and just when she was about to get up from the bench and play with Olivia herself, Karin pushed herself up and walked over to her.

Between the chattering of the people visiting the park, the chirping of the birds and the music from the reggae band, Sakura could just hear Karin squeal (yes, _squeal_), _''You're so cute I just want to eat you up! Too bad that's illegal!''_

Despite the rather alarming comment, Olivia's mouth immediately stretched into a grin and she jumped into the senior's arms. They both sat down on a swing.

Turns out Karin hadn't exaggerated when she claimed she was good with kids. Olivia normally didn't open up to people easily, but in just fifteen minutes she had climbed onto the redhead's back and refused to get off until Sakura had promised her an ice pop. Karin didn't seem to mind, though. In fact, it seemed like the instant liking the little girl had taken to Karin was mutual.

With a smile, Sakura stood up from the bench as well and stalked off towards the playground. As soon as Olivia caught sight of her, she gave her a smile as well and waved. ''Hey, Sakura!'' she yelled, ''Come sit with us!''

Sakura obeyed and sat down on the remaining swing. When she looked up at the sky, she noticed the sun had sunk lower into the sky. It was probably dinner time already.

''I bet I can get way higher than you two!'' Olivia cried, swinging her legs back and forth to gain more speed.

Sakura only chuckled in response and shook her head, but Karin yelled, ''You're on!'' and took off herself. After less than a minute, though, put her heels in the sand, slowing herself down and touched her heart with her hand as though she was very tired. ''Okay, you win. You're better than me.''

''Ha! Beat ya!'' Olivia laughed and leaned back in her swing with closed eyes.

Sakura smiled at the two of them. Although they would have to bring Olivia home soon, she decided to postpone that moment for a little while.

It had been quite some time since Sakura had felt so carefree and relieved.

* * *

It must have been around nine o'clock when Olivia's mother returned from her job -she was a singer at a local indie band- so that the two teenage girls were able to go home. The house was relatively small, well, in comparison to Sakura's house, and located above a shop. It was cramped with furniture and Sakura was glad when she could go home. Anything to leave the dusty building and breathe in some fresh air. Well- fresh air was hard to find in a busy city like Konoha, but you get the point.

''That was fun!'' Karin said. ''They seriously pay you to have fun with kids?''

''Well, Olivia's mother is kind of busy, so-''

''I know, I know. I was just kidding.''

''Where is your house?''

''Just around the block. Wanna see it?''

''Sure! Can I?''

''Well, the rules say we can't bring visitors after eight pm, but nobody really follows them anyway.'' Karin said with a flick of her hair, and she steered her friend around the corner.

The building Karin lived in was one Sakura passed almost every day. It was located next to the supermarket where she shopped for groceries. The building gave off a somewhat gloomy vibe from the outside: It was built out of dark brown bricks, the windows were small and the door was so very covered in graffiti that it was hard to guess which colour it had once been.

Sakura was so busy examining the house that she didn't notice Karin holding the door open for her. That is, until she snapped her fingers twice and gestured towards the now visible hallway with her head. Sakura nodded and quickly brushed past her. The hallway contrasted so much with the way the building looked when one looked at it from outside that the pinkette had to blink a few times before she was sure she was still in the same house. The walls were painted in bright, neon colours and the tile floor was so clean that Sakura could see her reflection in it. On her left side was a bright green coat and hat rack in the shape of a smiling fish, and on the right was a shiny, white staircase that spiralled up to the next floor. The hallway led to a few closed, orange varnished doors, each with a sign hanging from it to indicate which room was behind them. _'Kitchen' _said the sign to which Sakura was close enough to be able to read it.

''Clean house.'' she complimented dryly when she had finished taking it all in.

''You coming up?'' Karin had already walked up half of the steps from the stairs.

When Sakura arrived at the next floor, the first thing to catch her eye was a huge painting of a forest that covered half of one of the walls. Although Karin had already opened up the far left door, Sakura halted in front of the one in the middle of the painting.

''Who lives here?'' she asked her friend without turning around.

''Where? Oh, a guy named Sai. Kind of a weird type, he goes around wearing tops that only cover half of his stomach- Oh, hey Sai.'' Karin had stopped midway in her sentence when she noticed a pale guy -wearing an indeed very inappropriate shirt- trudging up the stairs.

''Hello.'' He greeted, giving Karin a slight narrow of his eyes. Karin only rolled her own crimson orbs and walked into her room. The boy then walked right over to the door in the middle of the painting, pretending Sakura wasn't there. At first, the girl figured he didn't see her.

''So you're Sai? My name is Sakura, nice to meet you.'' She said, holding her hand out to him.

Sai didn't shake it. He only gave her an obviously fake smile and opened the door to his room.

Sakura dropped her hand to her side, feeling the veins in her temples starting to throb. She turned her head to give him an irritated frown.

As annoyed as she was by his rude behaviour, she got the strange idea that this guy seemed familiar.

She put her foot in the doorway just before he could close his door in her face. ''Do I... Know you from somewhere?'' He tried closing the door anyway, but soon realised that she wasn't going to remove her foot before he answered her question.

''I'm in your homeroom class.'' he grunted reluctantly.

_'Of course!' _

Sakura could just stop herself from slapping her forehead. How could she forget? He was the one that got lectured by their teachers daily for drawing in his notebooks instead of taking notes.

''Right. Bye.'' She replied awkwardly. Then she quickly turned around and dashed into the room where Karin had disappeared in. ''What an arrogant prick!'' Sakura squeaked indignantly when she had slammed the door shut behind her.

''Newsflash.'' Karin replied sarcastically. She leaned out of her window, a cigarette between her index and middle finger. ''He's been here for a long time. Longer than me. He made that painting on the wall in the hallway. You know, the one of the forest.''

Sakura let her gaze slide over the furniture in the room. It was pretty basic; a bed, a desk and a closet. A few magazines in a pile on the floor, surrounded by different pieces of clothing scattered over the place. ''What happened to him? Why is he here?'' she asked her friend. She sat down on the bed.

''All I know is that he's an orphan. He doesn't really talk to anyone.''

Sakura's irritation vanished instantly. ''How sad...''

Silence.

''The sun's setting, Sakura. If you don't wanna walk home through the dark, you should go now.''

''Oh, you're right!'' Sakura jumped up from the bed and cut across the room. Her fingers lingered inches above the doorknob. ''You know, Karin,'' she started, ''That offer. You know, you living with me... I meant that.''

Karin blinked in surprise. Then, she stretched her lips into a toothy grin. ''Thanks, girl. Really, I appreciate that.''

''Okay.'' Sakura smiled too. ''See you tomorrow!''

With that, she left the room.

* * *

_Expect the next chapter to be up in about a week. Please review!_

_~Lion3queen_


	13. Happened

_I want to thank you all for still reading my story, you make me so happy. (:_

_Oooooh, I hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!_

_~Lion3queen_

* * *

The week flew by in what seemed like only hours. Sun-soaked days faded into sultry nights until it was once more a Friday afternoon. For once Sakura didn't just leave school when there was a football game going on. For the first time in years she was going to see it, and found herself strangely excited. More excited than she had expected to be. To neutralize this excitement, though, was this biting anxiousness she felt whenever she thought of the stuffed stands alongside the football field and how there was probably nobody there whom she knew. Or liked.

Because when she thought about it, the football games were mostly events for the 'popular' kids. The ones more popular than her, anyway.

Most of the students had already fled the building, she figured when she realised her space was for once not invaded by students trying to claw, nudge and shove their way past her. Had the game already started?

According to the clock hanging above the main doors, it was ten past three. The football game didn't start for twenty more minutes. Why had everybody already left?

The answer to that question came about ten minutes later, when Sakura scampered up the bleachers trying to find a spot to sit. There were so many people sitting on them that one could see little of the white paint underneath. Finally Sakura found a spot situated up high, all the way to the left. She slalomed and dodged her way over to it, squeaking shrill apologies whenever she bumped into somebody's knee or almost tripped over a lingering bag. People either ignored her or gave her narrowed stares, but continued talking and laughing like they had before.

They were teenagers, of course. Life was easy.

When she finally sat herself down all the way in the corner, Sakura was glad she had been able to find a place at all. The people arriving at the playing field right now just stalked off. It wasn't any fun to go to a game when you had to keep standing.

She couldn't remember the Wolves had been so popular the last time she went to one of their games. She remembered sitting here with Ino and a few other friends, with small groups of students surrounding them here and there. Not... _this_.

The girl directed her gaze upon the sky. The sky was bright blue just like it had been all week, but in the distance an ominous, thick line of dark grey was visible. It looked like, in a matter of hours, buckets of rain would be emptied above Konoha.

''Hello, Sakura.''

Sakura froze. Happy to find a spot like she had been, she had totally forgotten to look around to see if anyone she knew was sitting close to her. What if it was somebody that didn't like her?

Memories of people throwing coke and snacks in her hair flashed through her mind.

She was just preparing to make a run for it when the person next to her tapped her on the shoulder. ''Hello? Sakura? Are you alright?''

Wait a minute... That voice- it didn't belong to a bully.

Sakura whipped her head around. She came face to face with a friendly smile belonging to no one else than Itachi Uchiha.

''Itachi!'' She smiled.

''Yes, it's me.'' He replied, glad she seemed to be happy to see him. ''I haven't talked to you in a while.''

''I'm sorry, I've been busy.''

''I didn't expect you to be a football fan.''

''It's been a long time since I've seen a game. I'm mostly here for Naruto, to be honest. And what about you, didn't you tell me you didn't like it that much?''

''Sasuke.'' he said as an explanation. Of course he'd see a match if that was what his brother would like, Sakura thought. The two of them had always seemed close to each other to her.

''When is it starting?'' Sakura asked him dumbly, trying to stop a possible awkward silence from butting in before it had even done so.

Itachi didn't seem to notice anything odd about her question. ''It should start any time now.'' And sure enough, seconds after, the loud booming from the marching band stomping their way onto the field out drowned all of the noise from the audience. Alarmed by the sudden noise, Sakura almost toppled down backwards from the bleachers. Luckily she could grab Itachi's arm just in time. ''Careful!'' he warned the petite girl, steadying her with his arms.

Sakura muttered a soft thanks, trying to force the heat rushing up to her face down and to concentrate on the Wolves players entering the field, waving at the crowd enthusiastically. She tried to figure out which one of them was Naruto.

''Come on, Naruto! We love you!'' shrill voices squealed from the spots one row below Sakura and Itachi. They belonged to a few girls appearing to be a bit younger than Sakura. ''You're so hot!''

Sakura didn't understand the game one bit, so she spent the biggest part of the match trying to figure out. She just cheered along with the rest whenever the light blue uniformed team either kicked the ball through the goal posts or brought it to the end of the field (the 'end zone', Itachi had called it.)

At a certain point she finally learned to recognise Naruto. He was one of the taller guys, sporting the number eleven on his back. He was a more popular with the girls than Sakura remembered. Or maybe she just hadn't really paid attention to it. But the loud squealing coming from almost every teenage girl whenever he even breathed started to really annoy her. It was getting harder and harder to resist the urge to push the freshmen in front of her down the stands.

Was she jealous?

Sakura grunted and tried to concentrate on the game once more. She couldn't be jealous. She wasn't a jealous person. She wasn't anymore, anyway.

''NARUTO!'' A brown haired girl yelped so loudly that Sakura couldn't help but jump up in shock.

God, what was wrong with those girls? What were they, chimpanzees?

She tried to focus on finding out what everybody was getting excited about.

One of the Wolves' players pressed the ball down onto the field vertically, and Naruto ran up to him. A few of the players from the other team lunged at him, trying to keep him from reaching the ball. He dodged them effortlessly and kicked the ball with all his might.

Sakura jumped up from the bench and, before she could stop herself, joined in with the cheering from the rest of the supporters. ''YEAH!'' she roared when the ball soared through the goal post, earning the Wolves yet another goal. She froze with her fist pumped into the air. This time it was the girls sitting one row in front of Sakura and Itachi's turn to give her an icy stare.

She clamped her hand around her mouth and sat down again, ashamed of her outburst. Especially since Naruto appeared to have heard her. That's right, for a moment there, Sakura could see blue eyes trailing up to the stands to lock with hers. But to her surprise, his face erupted into a huge smile. He gave her two thumbs up and then started jogging backwards, not turning around for several feet.

One of his friends -Kiba, she thought when she could make out the faint red stripes on the person's cheeks- ran over to the blond yelled something at him that sounded like, ''Keep your head in the game, man!'' But Sakura could have easily misheard him because of the overwhelming noise coming from the bleachers.

Al of a sudden Itachi's voice filled her left ear. ''He really likes you, doesn't he?''

''Eh? What?'' She had forgotten all about him. Trying not to let that stupid fact show, she pondered over the question. Did Naruto like her?

Sure he did, they were friends.

She voiced those thoughts, but to her surprise Itachi only chuckled and shook his head. ''That's not what I meant. Forget it.''

The ball was kicked from the forty-yard line to the other side of the field and the game continued.

About fifteen minutes later, the ominous line of grey clouds had grown into a grey blanket that covered the entire sky. Almost immediately soft drizzle started twirling down.

At first, the people just put on hoods, popped out umbrellas or left and came back with their jackets. Later, though, people realised the weather wasn't going to get better any time soon and groups of people climbed down the bleachers and left the school grounds. In a matter of minutes at least three-quaters of the previous audience had stalked off already, leaving only Sakura, Itachi, and a few small groups of teenagers littered over the stands to sit watching as the rain crashed down with more and more force every minute.

''I'm cold.'' Sakura complained, wrapping the thin jacket she had been smart enough to bring with her around her more tightly.

''You can go home, you know.'' Itachi said. He held an umbrella he had borrowed from one of his friends that had left above the both of them, shielding them from at least a bit of rain. He himself always wore a thick layer of black clothing, so the rain didn't harm him. Sakura, however, wasn't dressed for this type of weather. He felt kind of bad for her.

''No I can't,'' she replied stubbornly, ''I promised Naruto I'd watch his match.'' A bit uncertainly she added, ''...How long do these matches usually last?''

''About fifty minutes. Only ten more minutes to go.'' he told her, taking a quick glance at his watch. ''Just concentrate on the game, if you don't focus on the weather it won't bother you so much.''

''Sure.'' Sakura replied. She clenched her teeth together to prevent them from clattering.

Stupid rain.

* * *

Long after the other players had left the dressing room, Naruto came strolling out.

Naruto flinched at the scowl he was met up with when he turned to look at the pink haired girl standing shivering underneath the canopy near the entrance. Judging from how soaked she was and the sulky expression on her pale face, she had been waiting for him for quite a while. ''What t-took you so long?'' she barked.

''Sorry, I needed to take a shower,'' he explained lamely. ''Come on, don't be angry. I just won the game!''

''Well done,'' she hissed, still glaring. ''can we go now?''

Immune to Sakura's angry expression, he rolled his eyes and mused, ''Geez, cut down on the enthusiasm. You're embarrassing me.'' suddenly he seemed to remember something, and his face erupted into a wide grin. ''Speaking of enthusiasm... Thanks for cheering me on. You looked like you had fun up there.''

''We are going NOW.'' Sakura ordered, taking his sleeve and pulling him with her. She ignored the whiny comments coming from the blond as they sauntered up the stone path alongside the football field. For some reason the lights that had flickered on halfway through the match, when the rain made it hard for the remaining audience and the players to get a clear view of the game, still weren't turned off.

The rain washed over them. During the time Sakura had spent waiting for her friend, the drizzle had grown into a downpour. She bit her lip and tucked a few damp hair strands that had been lingering in her line of vision behind her ear.

''You really are cold, aren't you?''

Sakura had almost forgotten Naruto was with her; the feeling had long since disappeared from her numb fingers and she couldn't even feel she still had a hold on his jacket. When she looked behind her, she noticed Naruto had managed to free himself from her hold and now strolled next to her. ''No.'' she lied. She was sure that, if she told him the truth, he'd give her his jacket. And if there was one thing she hated more than rain, it was feeling like a damsel in distress.

''You sure are a bad liar for a girl.'' came the irritated reply.

''Not all girls lie, you know.'' Sakura attempted to change the subject. Her friend wasn't fooled.

He reached into his sports bag and fished out a wrinkled shirt. ''Here. put this on.''

Sakura stayed silent. After about two seconds -Naruto wasn't a really patient person- the blond got tired of waiting and just pulled it over Sakura's head. She squeaked and tried to throw it off, but soon gave up and poked her arms through the sleeves.

The shirt was a tiny bit moist from the time Naruto spent running around in the rain, but it was dryer than the rest of the clothing Sakura was wearing. ''I wore it during the game, it probably smells pretty badly.'' Naruto snickered. He seemed to finally realise it was raining and pulled the hood from his jacket onto his head.

Sakura tried sniffing the shirt inconspicuously, just in case. She didn't know what he was talking about. It smelled like fabric softener; kind of flowery and sweet. ''It's fine. Thanks.''

''You're always like this.'' Naruto chuckled, shaking his head.

''Like what?''

''I offer you something, and you refuse to take it. Until I force it upon you, then you get all thankful and happy.''

''It's not my fault you go all gentleman on me all the time. It's the twenty-first century; women can do things on their own. Men aren't necessary anymore. You're all last year.'' Sakura teased.

''You forgot something. Here, it goes with the shirt.'' Naruto smirked before pushing something onto her head dull clunk. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, letting a squeak escape her mouth for the second time that afternoon. This one sounded even more high-pitched and girly. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the world through something that looked like white chicken wire.

Naruto has pushed his football helmet onto her head.

''Really cute, Naruto.'' Sakura grunted. ''Get this thing off me!''

The blond didn't appear to plan on obeying. ''So you're saying men and women are alike?'' he mused, as if she had never spoken.

''In everything.'' Sakura confirmed. She gave a tug at the helmet. It didn't budge.

''And you mean that men and women are equal even in abilities and stuff?''

''Totally equal.'' came the reply.

''Well, then I dare you to play some football against me.''

Sakura halted with her arms still lingering in the air. ''Excuse me?''

''You heard me.'' Naruto halted in his steps. When Sakura looked over her shoulder, the first thing she noticed was her friend's wide smirk.

She swallowed back a comment on how playing football against him would be unfair because he was too good. He did _so_ not need the ego boost. ''Okay, fine.'' she said, putting her hands on her hips. ''Bring it on.''

He threw his bag aside -he seemed not to care whether it would get wet- and gracefully hopped over the low fence surrounding the field. He jogged his way to the center of the football field. Sakura tried to imitate the flexible way the aforementioned boy had jumped over the fence, but, instead of elegantly leaping over the iron fencing, she clumsily and cautiously climbed onto it, lost her balance when she was on top of it and fell onto the damp grass in a heap of limbs. ''You okay over there?'' she heard Naruto yell at her over the sound of the clattering rain.

''Yeah!'' Sakura got up swiftly and spat out whatever amount of mud had entered her mouth during her fall. ''Let's play!'' she shouted when she had finally closed in on Naruto and took place in front of him. She dug her feet into the sand.

''Okay, are you starting on attack or defense?''

''What?'' Sakura asked, one eyebrow arched. What was Naruto blabbering about, couldn't she just pick when it was time to stop him or to go for the goal?

''You don't know how to play?'' Naruto asked her. He looked

''Itachi explained the game to me a bit...''

''Ugh, Itachi doesn't even like football. Tell me what you know.''

''Er, well... So there's two teams, and one of them tries to score- and they either do that by throwing the ball through the goal post from the other team or by bringing the ball to the end zone.''

Naruto nodded. ''Alright, that's pretty much it.''

_'But...' _Sakura thought.

And indeed, ''But,'' Naruto started. ''There's a few more things you need to know. See those lines? They're everywhere.''

Sakura nodded. It was hard to miss the white lines and the huge numbers between them.

''They're called yard lines. At the start of a game there's a coin toss to decide which team starts on offense and which team on defense. The team on offense scores, the team on defense stops the offense team from scoring. Got it so far?''

''Got it.''

''Okay, well, the team on offense starts with a snap. A snap is this tactic in which the players line up and the player in the middle -the 'center'- snaps the ball towards the quarterback -that's me- and then the quarterback passes it to, well, wherever he wants to pass it to. The offending team has to try and get the ball at least ten yards towards the defensing team's end zone. They have four attempts or downs to do that. When they've done that, they start a new series of downs.'' He fished a coin out of the pockets from his jeans. ''Heads or tail?''

''Tail. Wait- aren't you going to explain further?''

''I believe on learning on the job.'' Naruto explained calmly. He flipped the coin. ''Heads,'' he announced. He grabbed the football he had held in his hand the entire time more tightly and sprinted past her. Sakura spun around and watched Naruto dash off towards her side of the field.

''H-hey! You can't do that!'' She called after him lamely. The pink haired girl had no idea what she was supposed to do or how she was supposed to do it. All she knew was what she had seen earlier that day. If she recalled correctly, she was supposed to get the ball away from Naruto before he came too close to a goal post. He had a sharp aim.

She took off running, trying to catch up with her friend. The weather had become even worse. There was a thin layer of water covering the entire playing field. Wherever her feet touched the ground Sakura sent an explosion of water droplets flying into the air.

She went faster and faster and faster... In a matter of seconds she was only a few feet behind Naruto. He might be good at sports and all, but she was quick.

Now all she had to do was get the ball away from him. But how?

She had to concentrate on looking at the ground. Because of the helmet in combination with the rain, her vision was limited. She knew that if she slipped, Naruto would score.

Naruto hadn't noticed her yet, luckily. The rain didn't just hinder Sakura, but Naruto too. Because of the loud crashing of the water colliding with the ground it was hard to hear her footsteps at all. In a moment of inspiration she increased her speed so that she was running next to him and then threw herself to the side. Sakura tried yanking the ball out of his grasp but failed and took a nosedive onto the field. She rolled about for a few seconds before remaining motionless on the grass.

''Holy shit!" Naruto gasped when he realised what had happened. He spun around and rushed to her side. ''Shit, Sakura, are you okay?''

No reply.

The blond let himself fall to his knees. He rolled her over and shook her shoulders. She looked like she had fallen quite hard. Somehow, the helmet she had been wearing was still in place.

''Come on, Sakura! Answer me!"

Still no reply.

He looked around and considered calling for help. It was no use. Nobody would hear him. He looked down onto the unmoving girl on the grass once more.

Just when he expected the worst, her eyelids fluttered open and she grinned at him. ''Never underestimate your opponent,'' Sakura snickered. Before he knew it she had grabbed the ball out of his unsuspecting hands and jumped up. She took off towards his goal post.

''You're cheating!'' he yelled after her when he realised what she had done. ''You're not supposed to go for the goal yet! You're defending, remember?''

Even with the distance and the blur of the rain between the two of them it was hard to overlook the middle finger Sakura flicked up at Naruto without even turning to look at him. He couldn't help but laugh -out of amusement or relief, he didn't know- and start running after her.

By the time he had finally made his way over to where she was she had entered the end zone already, arms raised into the air in victory. ''Yeah!'' she cheered. ''Touchdown!''

The girl turned around with her lips stretched into a huge smirk, opposite to the sulky expression of her friend. ''Fine, alright. You've scored a touchdown, so?''

''Now don't be like that, Naruto.'' She tittered, ''I'll go easy on you from now on, okay?''

''No need. At least I don't need to cheat to score a goal.'' he stuck his tongue out childishly.

''Too bad you do need to distract me before you had even the slightest chance to get to the goal before me.''

''Does that sound familiar to you?''

''Let's start again.'' Sakura ignored his previous comment by innocently gazing at the cloudy sky. ''You're defending. The one who scores a point first wins, okay?''

''Fine.''

''Fine.''

''Fine.''

''Fine.''

After this conversation -in which a stranger would have guessed their ages to be no higher than four- both teens stomped to the center of the field.

''Thee, two, one- go!'' Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs. She hugged the ball against her stomach and attempted to take a run for it. Naruto, though, blocked her way. With difficulty she managed to dodge him, but quickly slipped and landed on her rear. She stood up, brushing the mud and dirt off of her denim skirt.

''Going anywhere?'' A voice asked from behind her. Before she had the chance to reply, though, Naruto reached for the ball. With a yelp Sakura threw it into the air to prevent her opponent from getting it. And with success.

Both teens launched into the air, attempting to grab it before the other did so. Naruto, being the tallest among the two, touched it first. Sakura 'accidentally' nudged him in the side, though, causing him to miss the ball. Sakura took this chance and nudged him again. Then she caught the ball and took off running.

''Cheater!" she could faintly hear Naruto shout at her once more.

The field seemed smaller than usual and Sakura felt like she had bridged it in a matter of seconds.

She dared to look over her shoulder once and then almost tripped when she noticed Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Sakura cursed the helmet on her head for blocking so much of her vision.

''Looking for someone?''

Before Sakura could look around to see where Naruto had come from all of a sudden she could feel her legs being swept out from underneath her, pressure against her side and then the feeling of all air being pushed out of her lungs. ''Oomph!'' she managed to splutter when her back hid the grass.

She groaned softly. She didn't know she had squeezed her eyes shut until they opened again and she was met up with the -surprisingly close- sight of blond spikes.

Wait- how was that possible? It couldn't be that- maybe-

_He was on top of her?_

This theory was confirmed when Naruto heaved his head up and flashed a smirk. ''I won!'' he announced. She could just notice a tiny speck of brown in the bottom left corner of the window-like hole in her helmet.

The ball.

He had fiddled it out of her grasp when she was too busy whining over her crushed lungs.

Which reminded her... ''Can't- breathe...'' she wheezed.

'''Right, sorry!'' Naruto said, jumping up. He offered her a hand. Her balance still wasn't that great from the crash she had made on the ground, resulting in the girl stumbling forward after Naruto had pulled her up. ''Woah,'' he said, grabbing her shoulders to keep her from crashing into him. ''What's wrong?''

''Wrong? Don't be weird. I was just running, until all of a sudden this idiot crashed into me.'' Sakura looked up at the blond dizzily. ''Get this thing off my head, please.''

''It's all part of the game,'' he snickered. ''Plus, I did the exact same thing you tried to do earlier. Only I succeeded.'' He meant creeping up to him and trying to knock him to the ground, obviously. Seeing how he was right, she decided not to respond. Naruto grabbed the helmet Sakura wore and after a few seconds she could finally see all around her again. ''Better?''

''Er- yeah.'' Sakura said. She shook her head so that wet strands of pink hair whipped her in the face. Then she smiled up at Naruto, who smiled back down at her. ''But just for the record, you were only able to tackle me because I was wearing that stupid helmet.''

''Oh yeah? It saved you some brain damage though, when _you_ tried to take the ball from _me_.''

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop the laughter from bubbling up her windpipe. Attempting to hide her idiotic giggling, she buried her face in the thing closest to her.

Only then it occured to her that that thing was Naruto.

And how she was still holding onto his shirt for dear life.

And how close they really were.

And how unbelievably good he looked with cheeks red from exertion and raindrops dripping down his spikes and eyelashes.

Her smile slipped away. So did Naruto's.

They stood there for what felt like ages, looking at each other. Quietly observing. Waiting.

Sakura hesitated. What was she supposed to do, kiss him?

Did she want to?

Naruto interrupted her chain of thoughts. His eyelids slowly drooped. He put his hand on her shoulder and leaned forward, slightly tilting his head to the side. Sakura didn't move away. She found herself frozen. Petrified. Like somebody had glued her feet onto the grass.

Naruto stopped leaning, giving Sakura some time to think.

''How about a tie?'' she managed to whisper, her lips centimeters away from his.

He smiled, ''Sounds awesome.''

Just when his lips were about to make contact with her own, a booming, masculine voice echoed over the playing field, causing both of the teens to flinch. ''_WHAT ARE YOU DOING OVER THERE, YOU BRATS? THE SCHOOL IS CLOSED!_''

Sakura noticed the unmistakable silhouette of a man hopping onto the field, shaking his fist at them angrily. He was all the way across the field, but appeared to be walking very quickly. ''Shit, Sakura, let's get out of here!'' Naruto shouted. He grabbed her arm and started running, dragging the girl behind him like a rag doll.

''I'll see you Monday, alright?'' Naruto asked her when they were certain they had lost the man who had been chasing after them. The blond bent down and picked up his bag from where he had dropped it earlier that afternoon. He appeared uncharacteristically awkward.

Sakura nodded stiffly, feeling pretty uncomfortable herself. ''Goodbye.''

She could see him waving at her before he turned around and stalked off in the direction of the school building, his tall form quickly disappearing in a blur of falling raindrops. When he was out of sight, Sakura finally dared to touch her flaming cheeks. She put her hand on her heart, trying to get it to return to it's usual rhythm.

_'What just happened?'_

* * *

_I'd love for you guys to review, please!_

_~Lion3queen_


	14. Bell

_Finally updated!_

_LOTS of thanks to my lovely BETA **Twinkletoast**, really, she might be the reason this chapter is here right now!_

_Enjoy,  
Springflake_

* * *

That Monday Sakura returned to school with a happy feeling that seemed to have nestled itself inside of her stomach ever since the previous Friday afternoon. Everyone was used to her being in an almost unhealthy bad mood every Monday morning, resulting in not only she but most of the student body finding themselves surprised at the way the pink haired sophomore seemed to float through the hallways, the sheepish grin not once leaving her face.

To the rest of the students, though, this was a Monday like every other one. The end of an amazing, short weekend and the beginning of an unbearably boring, long week. In fact, the only thing stopping them from just walking out of the classroom and taking the rest of the week off was the sun colouring the hours a bright yellow and - more importantly - the promise of the long, well-deserved summer break that would kick in after this week. Just five more days, and they'd be free to do whatever they wanted to.

The first three periods had flown by and before Sakura knew it, she found herself standing in front of her locker, surrounded by groups of chattering teenagers. She looked around, her smile faltering for a moment when she realized she had no idea where her friends were. Then the sound of a familiar snarling voice caught her attention.

Karin!

Sakura snapped her head around. She caught sight of the tall redhead talking to a somewhat nerdy-looking junior, her friend (Or enemy - Sakura still wasn't sure about that) Suigetsu looking back and forth between the two. He looked amused. Even though Karin appeared to be snapping at the nerdy-looking boy repeatedly, the crooked smile on the junior's zit-covered face didn't waver. Sakura decided to listen to their conversation.

''Where have you been all my life?'' squeaked the junior. Sakura felt a shiver running up her spine at that sappy, overused line.

''Hiding from you.'' Karin answered snippily, crossing her arms at him. Sakura snickered silently, but just loud enough for Karin to hear. The redhead caught her gaze and threw her a grateful look. ''Oh, look, somebody I _don't_ want to kick in the crotch. I'll be seeing you guys again. Or, you know, _not_.''

''What was that about?'' Sakura asked with a sheepish grin when Karin had stomped her way over to the girl.

''Can you believe what fucking Jaws did?'' Karin questioned, but before Sakura could answer she continued talking, ''He promised that fugly mathlete that he'd get him a date with me if he tutored Suigetsu in math. That _bastard_!'' she placed a hand on her forehead in attempt to calm down. ''Like hell I'm going to dump my reputation down the drain like that. Well, not that I have a reputation- I mean, I do, but 'gangster bitch' isn't exactly what people usually mean when they're talking about reputations.''

Karin stopped her rambling and gave the smaller girl a strange look. Sakura shrugged, still smiling.

''Should I be concerned?'' the redhead arched an eyebrow.

''Psh _no,_'' Sakura replied with a wave of her hand. ''Don't be silly, everything's oooo-kay.''

''Wait- I know that look,'' the redhead said then, completely forgetting about Suigetsu for a moment. She didn't buy her friend's denial in the least. ''You wear it around Naruto! Did something happen?''

''Well, I-''

''Spill, honey!''

Sakura looked around for any unwanted eavesdroppers and then stood on tip-toes to whisper a quick summary of last Friday's events into Karin's ear.

When she had finished her story and leaned back, she was taken aback by the huge grin on her friend's pale face. She could see Karin was struggling to find something to say but then gave up and just gave Sakura a forceful pat on the shoulder, before letting out a girlish squeak she immediately tried to mask by coughing into her fist. ''That guy,'' the crimson haired girl started when she felt like she had regained control over her enthusiasm once more, ''_is_ _totally into you_!''

''What?'' Sakura giggled.

''I heard that he doesn't kiss girls very often. Like, he does flirt and things, but he just thinks kissing is something special!''

Several feet up the hallway, Naruto came strolling out of the canteen innocently, planning on taking the books for his next class out of his locker. He had just spoken to his friends about summer break, which would start next week. It was official now. He and his friends would go to Ino's summer home in Europe. He could almost feel the summer enthusiasm running through his veins. The pressure of school being lifted off his shoulders. When this week was over, there was officially nothing for him to worry about. He upgraded - barely, but still - and then all that was left for him was to enjoy the summer (which was always kind of endless in Konoha. Long summers, short, snow-less winters.) If only Friday would come just a_ little _bit faste-

''_He's totally into you!_''

Naruto jumped up in shock, losing his coordination long enough to bump into a locker leaning against the wall. ''Fuck,'' he muttered, rubbing his nose. He glared at the person that had startled him from the corner of his eyes for a few seconds until it finally dawned on him who she was. Karin, Sakura's friend.

Something didn't add up to him. Wasn't she normally, you know, _not_weird?

''You're just being silly,'' a voice replied. The person it belonged to was shielded by Karin, standing tall on her high heeled boots as always. The redhead moved to the side so now some pink hair and a flash of red clothing was visible to Naruto. Sakura.

He arched an eyebrow when he noticed how his heart skipped a beat when he thought of her name. Shit, was he always this- this cheesy?

Naruto was about to turn around and go to his locker (like he had meant to before he was distracted) when he caught his name.

''Naruto would never try to kiss you if he didn't want to.''

_'Shit!' _

They were talking about Friday afternoon!

Naruto quickly decided he wasn't curious for the rest of the conversation between the two girls and scampered away into the direction of his locker. After he had opened it, though, he found his thoughts drift off again. To Friday.

He still had no clue what had happened that afternoon or what had brought him to actually try to kiss Sakura. Sakura! The girl he was supposed to crush! The girl he had been sure he hated, no more than a month ago!

But... A lot had happened in a month. He was sure he didn't hate Sakura anymore. She was actually quite... Attractive in a way. And fun to be with.

Naruto fished a crumpled piece of paper out of his jeans pocket and unfolded it. 'Debutante Ball' was written in the upper right corner.

_'You are invited to the Debutante Ball, held in the Konoha Theatre this year... Blah, blah, blah...'_Naruto read quietly. He'd already read the letter a few times before. For what had to be the at least the fifteenth time, he felt his eyes being dragged to the last sentence of the letter.

_'You are welcome to bring a guest.'_

A guest...

Unwillingly, he found his mind wander off to Sakura once more.

The ball would take place in only two days, leaving almost no time at all for him to think of whether he would invite Sakura. Not that he really had a choice, to be honest. He'd promised Sakura he would take her if she gave him dancing lessons, after all.

A part of him wanted to just forget about the entire ball thing, so he wouldn't have to deal with it getting even harder to tell Sakura what the reason was he had wanted to befriend her. Another part of him wanted to take Sakura to the ball just to have an excuse to be close to her again. To sweep her off her feet, and give her that look in her eyes she always had whenever she was happy.

But he knew that would only make it harder for him to tell her the truth.

Honestly, even thinking of telling her how he had planned on hurting her gave Naruto a sickening feeling in his gut. Like he was going to throw up. He was sure he couldn't do it. He just couldn't.

And Friday- well, he didn't even want to think about what could have happened. They'd just had so much fun, and she'd looked so amazing...

But he was sure that, if he could do it over, he would've never tried to do something as stupid as kiss her. No way.

Right?

_'There must be a _reason_ why you've been avoiding her all day,'_a tiny voice in his head sang. He ignored it.

Fed up with the direction his train of thoughts was going, Naruto tiredly ran a hand through his spikes and slammed his locker shut. He jumped slightly when he noticed a person standing next to him. She had previously been shielded from his view by the door of his locker.

''Shit! Ino! Hey!'' Naruto yelled, to which Ino teasingly put two fingers in her ears.

''A bit louder, please. I think a few people in the Whirlpool country might not have heard you," she tittered in that squeaky voice of hers.

''You scared the shit outta me!'' Naruto replied, crossing his arms.

''At least I got your attention, didn't I?''

''Didn't we talk like five minutes ago?'' he asked the blonde, wondering what she could want to talk about that couldn't be discussed with the rest of their friends around. He realized it a bit too soon, in his opinion.

Sakura.

''You know what I want to talk about,'' Ino said, leaning back against the cold metal of the line of lockers. She was wearing one of those tops that were short enough for everyone to be able to see her belly-button. Naruto guessed some guys could find it sexy. He wasn't one of them. All his life he had been strangely unaffected by Ino's charms. Maybe that was why they were such good friends.

He nodded.

''So, how's it going?''

''How's what going?'' Naruto questioned when nothing more intelligent came to mind.

''You and Forehead's relationship, dummy!'' At the word 'relationship', Ino flicked her index and middle fingers at him, indicating 'relationship' really wasn't an accurate word for the current situation. Naruto thought she was wrong. ''I haven't talked to you about it for at least two weeks. I was starting to think you were avoiding the subject.'' The blonde giggled, twirling a lock around her finger. Naruto let out a strained laugh.

''Well, I've just been busy. But- err-'' What was he so scared of? Why couldn't he just tell his friend he wasn't going through with the deal? He opened his mouth and closed it. Open. Close. Open. Close.

''What's wrong, cat got your tongue?'' Ino asked him, growing impatient now. She crossed her arms. Naruto took a deep breath and prepared to tell the truth.

''I just wanted to tell you everything's going fine. Sakura's definitely falling for me,'' was what popped out of his mouth instead, though. Mentally, Naruto stomped himself.

His blatant lie seemed to satisfy Ino, though, who clapped her hands together excitedly. ''About time! Well done, Naru!'' She prepared to walk away, but then stopped in her tracks. ''Wait- I wanted to ask you something else...'' Naruto motioned for her to keep on talking. ''Has she, you know, ever badmouthed me?''

If Naruto had somehow known what Ino thought, he would have known Ino was trying to soothe her conscience by finding out whether she had a reason - a real reason - to dislike the girl.

He crushed her hopes immediately by replying, ''Huh? I don't think so. Why?''

Ino stood frozen for less than a second. ''Okay- Well, er, I'll be seeing you around.''

He watched his friend disappear through the main doors, pondering over where her last question had come from. Naruto turned around, only to instantly bump into somebody that was at least an entire head shorter than him.

''N-n-naruto! Hello!'' Sakura stuttered, taking a few steps back.

''Oh, hey- er... What's up?''

''I was just- err-'' Sakura started, wondering where the cloud of happiness she had been surrounded by the whole day had gone all of a sudden. She was so... So nervous! ''What were you talking about with Ino? I could have sworn I heard my name...''

Naruto turned his face away from her and started fidgeting with the strap of his bag. ''Yeah, we were talking about- um...'' he trailed off, wondering what he could tell Sakura that wouldn't make her suspicious. Because she wasn't stupid. Her friend and the girl that had bullied her talking about something involving her- how big was the chance they had said something Sakura didn't need to be suspicious about?

Well, pretty small.

All too aware of the fact that it was taking him a bit too long to answer - and the fact that Sakura noticed, too - Naruto crumpled the paper in his clenched fist even further.

The paper!

''I was just telling her that I wanted to take you to the Debutante Ball tomorrow, like I promised,'' he finished finally, flashing her his sexiest smirk. And just like he hoped, this news made Sakura happy enough to forget about how hard he'd had to try to come up with this reply.

''Oh my gosh! Naruto, are you serious?'' she gasped, putting her hands over her mouth.

''Well, _yeah_, I promised, didn't I?''

All awkwardness seemed to have vanished. Well, until Sakura leaped towards Naruto, attempting to pull him into a hug, and they both, instead of moving their heads on each side of the other's, managed to both choose the same side and their foreheads collided painfully. They jumped back, each clenching their forehead.

''Ow, fuck!'' Naruto hissed.

''I'm sorry, I was kinda... _Rash_, wasn't I?''

''Oh, no, it's perfectly normal to bash somebody's head in with your own on impulse,'' the blonde growled sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

''Like I meant to, I hurt my own forehead too, you know. How masochistic do you think I am?'' Sakura cracked a smile, giving him a playful punch on the shoulder. Her sentence, though, was cut in half by the sharp ringing of the school bell.


	15. Heart

_I. Am. So. **Sorry** for the late update. Seriously._  
_School has been kicking my butt HARD lately, and I my summer vacation doesn't start until tomorrow, so I'll have the next two months to write and, yes, FINISH Make Believe. Because we're almost reaching the end!_

_Also, I want to thank you for all of your sweet, encouraging messages (There's almost 400! Can you believe it?) this chapter wouldn't have been on right now without you guys._

_Well, sorry for holding you guys up. Enjoy! :)_

* * *

Sakura studied herself in the mirror. She tilted her head, bent forward and smudged out some eye shadow above the corner of her right eye. Then she straightened her back once more, smoothed her hair down, clicked her tongue and pulled some strands of hair out of the up-do Karin had managed to construct on the back of Sakura's head.

Much better.

She sighed, annoyed, and stepped back to study her image better.

It was Wednesday night, half past nine. Sakura and Karin had been running around town until after the shops had closed, trying to find a not too expensive dress for Sakura to wear to the debutante ball Naruto would take her to. In the end, they had managed to find her a dress that, quite surprisingly, fit her like a glove (The shop had actually already closed, but it opened up again when Karin caught the shop owner's attention by threatening to break the glass of the windows if she didn't open up the door. Then she had finally given in when Sakura explained the situation). The girls had then raced back to Sakura's house where Karin spent about an hour doing her makeup and hair.

Now, five minutes after Sakura had shooed Karin out of the door, and half an hour before Naruto would arrive to pick her up, Sakura found herself shaking and sweating, trying not to go mad with nerves. She grabbed the edge of her wardrobe trying to steady herself and, attempting to distract herself, turned on the radio. A rap song about someone wanting someone else back - or something like that. Honestly, she couldn't care less about somebody else's love life at that moment - pumped out of her speaker now.

Sakura fiddled with the soft fabric of her dress. It was silver, strapless and flowed elegantly down her petite figure. A thin, light blue band was tied around her middle, accenting her slim waist. Karin had curled her hair with Sakura's mom's old curler and then tightened it at the back of her head into a messy bun. The redhead had also given Sakura smokey eyes (she went nowhere without her black and dark grey eyeshadow) and painted her lips a soft, peach pink.

Altogether, Sakura was quite pleased with the way she looked. She could barely recognize the face staring back at her from the mirror. If only it hadn't been so hard to make her look like this...

Sometimes, Sakura wished she looked like one of the models from the magazines. But then again, they hired people who make them pretty for a living. So actually, they didn't count.

Sakura twirled around slowly, enjoying the way the fabric billowed around her.

Then her doorbell echoed through the house.

Sakura almost swallowed her tongue in shock. Was Naruto here already? She was sure she still had about twenty minutes left before it was ten o'clock!

She frantically heaved up her dress - because it was so like her to get caught in it and fall down the stairs - descended down the stairway and pulled open the door.

''Aren't popular people supposed to be fashionably late?'' she huffed at the tanned face staring back at her, an apologetic smile plastered on his lips. She couldn't help but notice how his eyes trailed from her face down to her feet and up again a few times before finally resting on her eyes. Her cheeks grew hotter. Was he... checking her out?

Probably not, because he continued talking in a relaxed, unimpressed tone of voice, ''Yeah, things went a bit different than I expected... Are you ready?''

''Almost, let me just get my purse.''

Sakura turned her back to the blond boy and hurried back inside her house, disappearing into one of the rooms. When she was out of sight, Naruto finally allowed himself to direct his gaze towards the skies and let out a long sigh.

He'd always found Sakura, well, attractive to say the least. Even back when he- er, _picked_ on her, there'd been something about her that made him want to look at her for a bit longer, just so he could figure out what it was that drew him to her. But all that aside, tonight she looked, to put it respectfully... _Pretty damn beautiful_.

''Let's go,'' she said when she appeared in the doorway with her purse and a leather jacket on - evenings tended to be quite chilly in Konoha, even during summer - and pulled the door shut behind her. ''Wait, we aren't going to ride your scooter to the ball, are we?'' Sakura asked him suddenly, images of her in her evening dress, riding through the muddy streets and a helmet pulled on over the hairdo Karin had spent hours on popping into her head.

Naruto smirked, though, ''And making all the money I spent on the limo I rented go to waste? As if!''

''Wait, limo? As in _limousine_?''

''No, as in lemonade,'' he replied sarcastically. ''Yeah as in limousine!'' He pointed at something behind Sakura's surprised face, and she turned her head to look at it. In front of her house, next to the sidewalk, stood the most gorgeous, silver limousine she had ever seen. In her life.

''Oh my god!'' she said, completely forgetting to react to Naruto's sarcastic remark. ''It's lovely!'' In her enthusiasm, she stretched out an arm to tap Naruto on the shoulder, but once again forgot how much strength she had stored in her short body and knocked him over.

He squeaked, ''Ow!'' and barely managed to retrieve his balance.

''Sorry!'' Sakura apologized, still too enthusiastic to be able to experience any emotion other than joy. "Can we... go in?''

Naruto rubbed his shoulder inconspicuously, feeling a bruise form on his skin. It hurt, but he still refused to show how much damage a simple tap from a _girl _could actually do to him.

"Sure, ladies first." But by the time Naruto had finished his sentence and looked to where Sakura had stood, he realized she had disappeared.

He flinched and looked around until he finally spotted Sakura, already sitting in the vehicle with a huge smile plastered on her face. He rolled his eyes at her childishness - finding it oddly charming at the same time, although he would never ever admit it to anyone - and plopped down on the seat next to hers.

''So what is it like, anyway? The debutante ball?'' Sakura asked him after the car had left Sakura's street and the skyline of town came into view.

''Nah, nothing special. You'll see when we get there.'' The confused look the pink-haired girl gave him was enough to get him to continue speaking, ''I don't know. It's like, well, really big. There's rich people everywhere, and the location is always some kind of huge fancy building. It's just... Not for me, I guess.''

''It sounds amazing. I can't believe we're actually going there!'' Sakura clapped her hands together and kicked up her feet, accidentally hitting the chair of the driver in the process. ''Sorry.'' The man looked around and snarled something under his breath, but didn't make a bigger fuss. Sakura lowered her legs and folded her hands in her lap, planning on being less impulsive in the future -not that that was going to happen even if she tried.

About fifteen minutes later they arrived at the edge of town and turned into a huge driveway, leading to a big, classy hotel. It was a Hilton hotel, Sakura saw when she craned her neck enough to see the huge, bright letters blare from all the way on top of the roof. It was decorated with lights - the tiny, twinkly ones you use in Christmas trees - and outside, beside a tiny pond, was a candle-lit outdoor terrace. Whenever somebody got out of their car - if she could call the vehicles cars, most of them could fit three tinier cars inside - a server rushed to their side and offered them something from a plate.

''Are you getting out?''

Sakura had spent so much time taking it all in, she hadn't noticed they had slowed down already and that now Naruto was waiting for her, arm outstretched. She grabbed the hand he was offering and pulled herself out of the limousine, but not before quickly thanking the driver.

''Gosh, Naruto, it's... I don't know what to say.'' But Sakura was interrupted by a short man running over to them, holding out a silver - was it silver? No, it couldn't be - plate to them with tiny, fancy looking dishes on them.

Naruto took a small, brown, unnecessarily complicated-looking appetizer from it and stuck it into his mouth, and Sakura decided to follow his example.

''Have a good evening,'' the server said. Sakura waited until he had left to make gagging noises and cough.

''God, this is disgusting! What is it?''

''It's caviar,'' Naruto replied, giving her an amused look.

''Why is this crap so expensive?''

'''Crap'? Don't let the other guests hear you,'' Naruto joked as the pink-haired girl put the remains of the dish on one of the plates the servers were carrying.

She rolled her eyes and replied in a singsong voice, ''I _refuse_ to let you spoil this evening. Let's go inside.'' Then she wrapped her arms around his left arm and pulled him with her, unaware of the redness that stained his cheeks at the close contact.

Naruto and she appeared to be the youngest guests at the ball, Sakura noticed when they entered the building and she finally had the chance to study the other people present. They all appeared to be at least forty years of age, and looked as if they were used to parties like the debutante ball weekly; uncurious and unimpressed. All they did was talk with other people, eat and - in rare cases - dance.

''See what I mean?'' she could hear Naruto murmur, probably noticing the exact same things she did. But she shrugged it off and pulled him with her, over to the round stage in the middle of the huge, chandelier-lit room. There were small candles placed all around it - which was not a very good idea, Sakura thought to herself, although they sure looked beautiful - and a woman calmly sang into a microphone, with a small orchestra positioned to sit in a circle around the singer, playing along. ''What are you doing?''

Sakura looked over her shoulder, meeting up with Naruto's sapphire eyes. They were slightly narrowed in confusion as to why she had dragged him all the way over to the center of the room. His fingers went to his bow tie, - it had become slightly crooked, although Sakura had no idea how he had noticed this without looking in the mirror - and tugged at it until it was straight once more. ''We're going to dance,'' she announced. And at his shocked expression she tittered, ''Oh come _on_, don't be such a baby. I didn't teach you for _funzies_.'' And she wouldn't be Sakura if the last word wasn't dripping with sarcasm, of course.

The music fell silent and the crowd applauded, but Naruto barely noticed. Sakura had turned around all the way, and he found himself staring at her hands, urging himself to dare take them.

He was slightly ashamed at his boyish nervousness, not having felt this insecure in years. Sakura must have felt his unease because she was the one to reach out and curl his fingers around hers. She looked up at his face from underneath her long eyelashes and arched her eyebrows expectantly.

Finally he reached out and planted his hand on her waist, swaying to the rhythm of the new song - a lot more upbeat than the previous ones - that had started playing. Sakura moved along with him as he guided them around the dance floor, getting more and more into the dance as the song played on.

He twirled the small girl around and they both laughed in delight. They paid no attention to the people standing around them that backed away to give them more space. Eventually, other couples started dancing as well, seeing how much fun the teens were having.

But the song was over, and it melted into a new, slower song that forced the teens to slow the pace of their dancing. They positioned their limbs in a waltzing pose and started twirling around once more. And Sakura just felt so happy at that moment, so amazingly happy, that she had almost dismissed the piercing stare a boy directed at her and Naruto from about twenty feet across the room. But the face the stern eyes belonged to was one Sakura knew all too well.

''It's Sasuke!'' she hissed into Naruto's ear, not realizing until now how their cheeks were touching and how her chin had come to rest on his shoulder. She felt the boy stiffen.

She should have known Sasuke would be at the party, his family owning more than half of the bars in town. She just simply hadn't given, you know, anything_ imperfect _that much thought. _I've been naive to think nothing would spoil this night_, she thought bitterly.

Against all expectations, Naruto whispered, ''Who cares?'' reminding her once again how close they were.

Sakura swallowed audibly, feeling oddly exposed with the raven-haired boy's eyes boring into her own. She didn't feel the thrill that she used to feel whenever he did as much as cough in her direction, though. That was gone entirely.

''Ino? Is Ino here too?''

The side of Naruto's nose brushed her cheek when he shook his head. ''She had a headache or something. I don't know.''

They twirled around once more, causing Sakura to now turn her back to Sasuke. This, of course, meant she didn't see Sasuke arching an eyebrow at Naruto and motion towards the overly fancy bar in the back of the gigantic hall. She also didn't see the way Naruto's blue eyes bounced back and forth between her and his best friend, as if he was reluctant to talk to his friend. Or to let go of her.

''Excuse me for a second.'' And before she knew it he had let go of her and stalked off in the direction of his best friend. Sakura stood there, jaw slack and arms still lingering where his shoulders had been just a moment before.

She crossed her arms and huffed. ''Oh, don't worry. Just leave me standing here and run off, _no_ problem.''

Sakura ignored the people looking her way, probably wondering why she stood there talking to herself, sent the blond a pointed stare and started moving towards the snack table. She poured herself a glass of punch and inconspicuously searched the crowd for Naruto. She soon spotted him standing near the fountain. Even from the distance Sakura watched them from she could easily make out the displeased expressions on both their faces.

''Sakura? Fancy seeing you here!''

She spun around and came face-to-face with a very happy-looking Itachi. ''Oh, hi!'' She felt slightly lame at how it seemed like every single time they met he just greeted her, and she got startled enough to pee her pants. She silently wondered why he even talked to her.

''How do you like the party?''

''I love it! How about you?''

''It's fun, like always. I'm sure I didn't see you here last year, though.''

''That's because I wasn't here last year. I'm only here because I forced Naruto to bring me.''

''Yeah, I'm sure he hates you being here.'' Itachi snorted, rolling his eyes. Sakura gave him a puzzled look, to which the taller one of the two blew a breath out between his teeth, ''Wait, you seriously don't know? Still?''

Sakura shrugged in reply.

''I really don't think it's up to me to tell you, since he looks like he isn't sure about it in the first place.''

'''It?''' Sakura questioned. But when she wanted to ask on, Itachi was suddenly pulled away by a man with a beard who heartily greeted him. _Alone once again_, Sakura thought, irritated.

She focused her gaze on the snack table, finally realizing how hungry she was. She had been so busy getting ready for the party that she hadn't eaten a thing.

She brought a finger to her mouth, trying to figure out which one of the dishes she should try first. She picked up a small sandwich-like appetizer and sniffed it carefully._ 'Garlic.'_ she thought, putting it back on the tray innocently. She was familiar with the way the scent of garlic lingered in a person's breath days after the person had consumed it. When she looked up her gaze was met by a very, very, _very _displeased employee who disgustedly looked back and forth between her and the dish she had just put back on the table.

What did he think Sakura had done with her hands? Sakura narrowed her gaze at him and he simply went on with whatever he had been doing before.

She picked up a fork from the cabinet next to the snack table and used it to carefully poke a shiny pink appetizer with a strawberry on top. This one looked edible. She quickly put it in her mouth.

''Oh my god, this is amazing,'' she muttered, not realizing she had spoken aloud until somebody piped up from the other side of the table.

''Do you really think so?''

It was Hinata Hyuuga, who smiled at Sakura shyly, eyes beaming.

''Yes, I do!'' Sakura called out, too hungry to think of properly greeting her classmate. ''It's amazing, honestly!'' And she stuffed another one of the strawberry things into her mouth before even having swallowed the previous one.

''I thought of the recipe myself. It's cake dough, but rolled into a ball. And there's a thin fondant layer around it.'' The dark haired girl reached up to her head - probably to run a hand through her hair - but then brought her hand down again, probably remembering she was wearing it up. Instead she settled with fiddling with the fabric of her khaki evening dress.

''It's amazing,'' Sakura repeated. ''Do you work here or something?''

''No,'' Hinata giggled. ''My dad is the head of Hyuuga Electronics, remember? I was invited to come.''

Sakura stammered a quick apology. Hinata always acted so shy and inferior she sometimes forgot the girl was in fact a millionaire's daughter.

''So,'' Hinata continued, looking a lot less happy all of a sudden. ''Are you here with Naruto?''

''Yeah,'' Sakura replied, putting the last one of the cake balls in her mouth. ''Just as friends, though,'' she finished quickly, seeing Hinata's hurt expression. Everyone knew she'd had a crush on Naruto since elementary school, although Sakura wasn't quite pleased with this. Hinata was such a sweetheart... Sakura didn't want to hurt her.

And her attempt at cheering the girl up had worked. The smile had reappeared on her pale face. Suddenly, though, her - almost unnaturally - light eyes flicked over to something behind Sakura's back, and her cheeks flushed red instantly.

''Hey,'' Naruto greeted when he appeared beside Sakura, ''Sorry it took so long.'' He looked over his shoulder once, in the direction of where he and Sasuke had talked just minutes before. But when Sakura followed his gaze, she noticed Sasuke had disappeared.

''It's okay, it was probably important, right?'' Sakura replied, and held out a new plate of cake balls the waiter had just placed on the table to him. ''Here, taste.''

Naruto blinked and wearily put one in his mouth. His eyes widened instantly. ''These're great!''

''Right? Hinata made them!''

Naruto looked up at Hinata, who looked about ready to faint. ''Well done!'' He complimented her, although all she managed to splutter in reply were high-pitched squeaks. Naruto gave her a weird look and grabbed Sakura by the arm, ''Yeah, well, we're going. Bye.''

''Well, that was rude.'' Sakura commented when they were out of hearing range.

Naruto shrugged, a panicky expression still visible on his face. ''I can't help it. Why does that girl always act so weird around me? I can't believe how Kiba can like her like that.''

''Kiba likes her?''

''I thought everyone knew.'' Naruto turned around and placed his hands on her hips once more, but his eyes were everywhere but on hers. She wondered whether something had happened during the time she had spent chattering by the snack table. He seemed to be... different from the last time she danced with him. Less cheerful.

''Apparently not.''

''Well he does,'' Naruto continued, his eyes scanning the crowd for - well, she wasn't sure for what exactly. ''He's head over heels for her.''

''Are you looking for someone?'' Sakura asked him, growing irritated at the lack of attention he was giving her.

''Wh- Oh, no, nobody. Never mind,'' Naruto replied, but as soon as he had uttered this response he resumed to searching the people present again. Sakura tried to ignore it from that moment on, but she _so _did not feel like wasting her evening by dancing with someone who didn't feel like dancing with her. So about five minutes later she finally snapped.

''Okay, if you don't _want _to dance with me or something, then _don't_.''

Naruto tore his gaze away from the crowd and directed it on Sakura. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. ''I do want to dance with you.''

''Then why do you keep looking at the people around us?''

''I'm not.'' But the guilty expression on his tanned face stated the opposite.

''There's something you're not telling me.'' Sakura pulled away from him, crossing her arms.

''I don't know what you're talking about.''

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the way he tried his very best to look as if he didn't have a clue what she was talking about, ''Whatever. I'm going to the bathroom.''

''Wait, Sakura!'' Naruto spluttered, but she was gone.

Naruto pressed his lips together and ran a hand through his hair, the image of Sakura's hurt expression still on his retina.

He hated lying to her so much more than he should - especially noticing how their entire relationship was a lie. But he couldn't risk Sakura finding out about the bet that had started everything. He couldn't risk her finding out how, at the beginning, everything had just been a huge set-up. He also couldn't risk his friends finding out about how he felt about all of the lying. How he felt about…about...

And then he saw Sasuke tearing himself loose from the throng of people and walking outside through the open doors, interfering with his train of thoughts.

He immediately started pushing people out of the way, trying to get to his friend as soon as possible. Because looking back at their talk earlier, the last thing he wanted was for Sasuke to be somewhere where Naruto couldn't keep his eyes on him and make sure he didn't talk to Sakura.

''Sasuke,'' he said with a deadpanned expression as soon as he stepped onto the terrace. Sasuke didn't reply, but simply looked over his shoulder and met his friend's gaze.

The people that had been lounging on the terrace earlier that evening had all disappeared, and the only sound, besides the noise from inside the hotel, was the clamor from the water fountain. The biggest part of the candles had been blown out by the wind already, resulting in Naruto now having to try his very best to tell Sasuke apart from the pitch black background.

''Where's Sakura?'' Sasuke asked.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. ''You don't need to know.''

''You're just postponing everything, Naruto. And I'm sure you know it,'' Sasuke stated, his expression not changing.

Naruto just stared at him.

''You're going to have to tell her eventually, about why you were so determined to become friends with her. And the longer you wait, the smaller the chance that she'll forgive you.''

And the tension in the air thickened.

''Shut up!'' Naruto bellowed suddenly, ''If you tell her, I'll-''

''What will you do?'' Sasuke interrupted. ''You know I'm right. You _know_.''

''If I tell her that the reason I became friends with her was because of a bet with Ino, that I actually hated her and looked down on her as much as the others, that Ino pushed me into pretending to fall in _love_ with her-''

And then a loud, heartwrenching shriek filled the air. The last thing Naruto saw before time stopped was the silhouette of a small, pretty girl with pink hair standing in the doorway with her hands clasped over her mouth and a broken heart.

* * *

_Well? How was it?_

_Love,_

_Springflake_


	16. Ran

Sakura stepped through the bathroom door and into the great hall once more, feeling less annoyed at Naruto than she had been before. She didn't know what was wrong with him, did she? He might just have a good reason for not enjoying her company.

She pushed and pulled her way through the crowd to the place where she had last seen Naruto, only to find that he had vanished. She spun around and searched the sea of people for a spiky blond head.

''Are you looking for Naruto?'' A masculine voice asked her. When Sakura looked up at the man's face, she was met up with a face she did not recognize. The face belonged to a man with long, grey hair and odd red marks on his face, running from his eyes to his jaw. His face was quite wrinkled, but his eyes still had that sparkle normally found in only younger people. Sakura wasn't sure of his age. ''Oh, wait, of course!'' He laughed suddenly, ''You probably don't know who I am, do you?"

''Er-''

''-My name is Jiraiya, I'm Naruto's caretaker.''

''Oh! You're Jiraiya? Nice to meet you, sir. My name is Sakura.''

''Naruto has told me so much about you,'' He grinned. ''He cares about you a lot, you know.''

''He cares about you, too,'' Sakura laughed.

''But I'm drifting off,'' Jiraiya stated suddenly, ''I just saw Naruto walking out through the doors. If you see him, tell him I'm going home at eleven o'clock.''

Sakura turned around and gave the man a quick wave. ''I will, thank you!''

By the time she finally reached the door, Naruto and Sasuke were standing face to face, the first sporting an angry expression on his face, the latter an empty one. Sakura quietly stepped onto the terrace, attempting to find out what they were talking about. They hadn't noticed her yet.

''-the smaller the chance that she'll forgive you.'' Sasuke said.

Forgive Naruto? Who? Forgive him what?

''Shut up! If you tell her, I'll-'' That was Naruto.

''What will you do? You know I'm right. You _know_.''

''If I tell her that the reason I became friends with her was because of a bet with Ino, that I actually hated her and looked down on her as much as the others, that Ino pushed me into pretending to fall in _love_ with her-''

And then Sakura realized who they were talking about. She had no idea what her reaction had been, all she knew is that it must have been quite a startling one, because both boys snapped their heads around, eyes large and round.

The words Naruto had spoken echoed around in her head, drowned out by the deafening beating of her heart sounding loudly in her ears.

Sakura was barely aware of the blond gasping her name.

The world seemed to disappear from all around her, leaving nothing but a pitch black background. The beating of her heart grew louder and louder, drumming in her ears. Her vision became hazy, the colours blurred together.

Sakura heaved her hand up and touched her face. Tears.

There were tears coming from her eyes.

She let them flow. They meandered down her cheeks, tickling her face. The girl opened her mouth to breathe in. The tears tasted salt on her tongue.

''Y-You…'' She faltered, barely above a whisper, ''-You… It was all fake?''

Sakura didn't understand Naruto's reply. His voice seemed to come from afar and it echoed around in her head, making the words he said hard to understand.

''-This can't be right…'' She stuttered to nobody in particular, even though she was sure the two teens could hear her, ''I had made a friend… I made a friend! This can't be right!''

Her hands shot up and covered her mouth, making the rest of the words she sputtered out sound like a bunch of hiccups and gasps, "This can't be right, Naruto… Tell me it's a joke."

Sakura didn't hear the blonde's reply, but words weren't needed. His face told her everything.

The pinkette spun on her heels and dashed away with as much speed as she could muster, her dress fluttering behind her. She did not look behind her; it hurt too much.

She wiped the tears away from her eyes with her arm. She had waited to clear her view because she didn't want Naruto to see her weak like this. No doubt that was what he wanted.

_'A joke,' _Sakura repeated in her head, _'It was all a joke.'___

The girl didn't know where to run off to. All she knew was that she wanted to get away from that place. And that was exactly what she did.

The people driving past her in their cars all turned their heads to look at her, but Sakura didn't care. She felt humiliated, angry, hurt and above all _alone_.

She finally left the road leading to the hotel and ran in the direction of town.

_'I should have known,' _She thought, her vision becoming blurry once again, '_Why would somebody like him have wanted to be my friend?' _The girl sped up slightly, _'So why didn't I? Why didn't I see it?'___

Beautiful things like bullies falling in love with nerds... They didn't happen. Not in real life. Yeah, in chickflicks. In movies and in books. Not in the real world. Not in Sakura's life, anyway.

Sometimes, fairy tales are so amazingly beautiful that one simply can't accept that's all they are. Fairy tales. Fantasies. Stories made up to teach kids to do as they are told, to be honest and kind.

Stories. Lies.

Images started to form in Sakura's head. They were memories, she realized. Naruto talking to her beside the fountain. Naruto helping her when she was sick. Naruto eating ice cream with her. Naruto staying with her, comforting her when her mother left their house. Her teaching Naruto how to dance, and then him teaching her how to play football.

The girl stopped running altogether, almost tripping on the hem of her dress. Sakura grabbed a hold of a street lantern so she wouldn't fall over. She rested her forehead against the cool, iron object. Cars kept on driving by, a few honking at her.

''Why was I so stupid?'' She asked rhetorically. The boy had set up a trap for her and she had fell, no, _jumped_ into it.

The sounds of swift footsteps approaching reached her ears, but Sakura didn't look around. She knew who was coming.

''Sakura?'' the person panted.

The girl didn't move.

Sakura could tell Naruto was completely out of breath by the sound of his heavy breathing. And, noticing he was a football player, that meant he had run very, _very_ fast. But Sakura was still faster than him. Regardless of the sadness and disappointment she felt at that moment, the thought of being better than Naruto at something still made her feel smug.

Well, kind of.

''It was all make believe, wasn't it?''

''Look, Sakura, this was all a mistake-'' Naruto spluttered.

Sakura couldn't stop herself from letting out a bitter laugh. ''A mistake?'' Still, she didn't turn around. ''So you _didn't _fake wanting to be friends with me, just so you could hurt me in the end?''

The blond spluttered, ''I-Well-That's how it started, but-''

''I thought so.'' Sakura whispered.

''I never wanted it to be like this,'' Naruto said at last, so soft the girl almost didn't hear it.

Neither of them moved. Sakura noticed she had run all the way outside the town. They stood on a small path, with fields of grass on either side of it. The grass swayed in the gentle evening breeze.

''I'm leaving. Don't you think you hurt me enough for just one evening?" Sakura said, struggling to keep her voice steady. ''To be honest, I don't really see why everybody wants to see me in pain so much - why people think it's 'fun'. But I guess it's just how it's meant to be. I might as well accept it. Goodbye, Naruto.''

She attempted to walk into the direction of Konoha, where the city lights coloured the sky above town a bright yellow, but she had only taken a few steps until she realized a strong hand had curled around her arm and anchored her in place. Her head snapped up and, for the second time that evening, tears slipped down her cheeks. They lit up like tiny light bulbs in the glare of the passing cars.

''What is it, Naruto?'' She asked him, her voice finally breaking.

"Wait-" was all the boy could say. For some reason, his eyes were glistening unnaturally, making Sakura wonder whether he was going to cry as well. His expression was one of genuine hurt. Sakura didn't fall for it.

People had been lying to her all of her life. At a certain point she just couldn't tell what was the truth and what was a lie anymore. Or she just stopped trying altogether. Naruto had proven himself a great actor.

''At first, I was just acting, but later I-'' He paused, ''I discovered what kind of a great, beautiful person you are.'' He swallowed away a lump in his throat and continued in a soft, whispering tone. ''You make me want to be a better person myself, Sakura.''

The girl lowered her gaze to the ground.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

''Want to hear something funny?''

Naruto looked at her, not knowing what to expect.

''I haven't cried since I was a toddler. Not one tear. Not when Ino and- and _you_ bullied me, not when my family fell apart... _Never_. And now, I'm actually crying. For_ you_.'' Sakura sniffed audibly, her face hidden by pink bangs that had slipped out of the updo she was wearing. Then, unexpectedly, the girl snapped her head back up and looked him fiercely in the eyes, her own orbs filled with hurt and sincere odium, "I was in love with you, you know," she whispered.

Naruto's jaw dropped.

Silence fell between the teenagers, and for the first time since he had run after Sakura, he looked at her. _Really_ looked at her.

He could see the wall the girl had built around her to protect the world from seeing the misery laying inside, breaking down, one piece at a time. The swollen eyes just added to the heart-wrenching picture.

He didn't know what to say.

Sakura took this as enough of an answer. ''Let go of me please.''

He didn't.

''Let go.''

He just stood there, staring at her in a daze.

''Get your fucking hand from my arm!'' The girl yelled then, her voice going high pitched for a moment.

''Wait, please-'' He started, his sapphire coloured eyes pleading. But Sakura was done here. She heaved her free arm up and punched him square in the face, just like that time in the school canteen. Only this time she wasn't sorry.

Naruto's grip on her arm loosened and she yanked it out of his grasp. She put her hand over her mouth and dashed away in the direction of town.

The girl looked over her shoulder only once.

She could see Naruto standing underneath the street lantern, clutching his cheek. He looked at her, sadness written all over his face. Sakura tore her eyes away from his and fixed them on the silhouette of the town stretched out in front of her.

She ran.


	17. Naruto

_Hello everyone! This is a short, but really NECESSARY chapter._

_Love,_

_Springflake_

* * *

Summer vacation passed the way it always did in Konoha: a single week of unbearable, suffocating heat; six weeks of moist, invigorating drizzle; and grey skies. Sakura spent most of her vacation working, trying desperately not to think of the past events that had happened during the last months of school. She'd tried to block out anything and everything that had to do with Naruto.

This included Naruto himself, of course. Countless times he'd tried to talk to her, but Sakura always successfully turned her back to him or replied with biting, sharp-tongued barbs. There might have been the occasional small pang of guilt in her chest upon seeing the wounded looks he threw her, but she'd grown immune to them over the weeks. The way his eyes widened until they formed almost perfect circles whenever she decided to speak her mind and tell him _exactly_what she thought of him. The way a tiny furrow formed between his eyebrows when he frowned after another fruitless attempt to get her to forgive him. And the way he always clenched his lips together when he was flustered, almost as if trying to keep himself from saying something… stupid? Or hurtful? Sakura honestly didn't know.

One might wonder why Sakura insisted on making everything so hard for the boy when she'd admitted to him that she loved him.

Partly, it was pride. Sakura had always been somewhat of a proud person, and tended to become deeply offended whenever someone made a fool out of her or insulted her. She'd been the butt of most of her classmates' jokes–feeling like a fool was not alien to her, but it certainly did not alleviate the jolts of stinging pain that she felt with every insult flung at her. Her pride had been trampled over like a weed under the hooves of a stampede. Regardless, that didn't deter her from wanting to maintain the shred of dignity that she had salvaged.

But mostly, she was trying to keep her life empty. Isolation–not letting anyone enter her life–was her new "friend". After all, why _would_ she, why _should_ she make friends? People were bad. They were selfish and treacherous, with a tendency to be convinced that their own happiness was worth more than others'. Emptiness was good. Emptiness was _safe_.

As long as Sakura made sure she didn't have anything, she wouldn't have to worry about getting hurt again.

Yes, she had it all planned out over the course of the past few weeks. Distancing herself from people was the key. This year she would no longer try to make friends or even develop any chance of an acquaintanceship, like she had last year. This year, everything would be different.

Distancing herself from everyone included Karin. (Hence the reason why she'd answered none of Karin's calls to tell Sakura about her new school, how she'd like to hear from Sakura, how her vacation was, and if she'd like to hang out soon. She was hanging in there, wasn't she? Karin had quit smoking like Sakura wanted, but wait, her boyfriend was standing at the door, she had to go. A quick goodbye and a beep indicated the voice message had ended. More emptiness.)

Karin might have been Sakura's best friend throughout those last months, but that was exactly why it was better to end their relationship before it ended by itself. Karin would betray Sakura in the end, just like everyone else. It might have taken a while, but in the end, Karin would have done it too. Her father, her mother, Ino, Naruto... They'd all betrayed her, up and gone without so much as a care for her well-being. Took her love for granted. Used her to get what they wanted until she'd been all used up. Then they'd carelessly tossed her out like she was a beaten and worn out pair of shoes.

The depression Sakura currently dwelled in was very much similar to the one she'd experienced during the time she'd been badly bullied–or perhaps all her life for that matter. Only this time, there wasn't that tiny spark of hope, some naive, childish belief that someone would come to rescue her from all that had ever hurt her; that somebody would take her away.

Of course things would start to look up eventually, though Sakura did not believe this in the slightest. Things couldn't always go from bad to worse like this. Sometime the sun had to break through the clouds. Sometimes the drizzle had to cease.

Sakura's sun emerged on the Saturday before the new school year would begin again. She'd just gotten home from work after a particularly bad day–her manager had made a big fuss over the fact that Sakura had forgotten to pin her name badge on her uniform–and she was so tired that she didn't even notice the car parked next to the house or the many bags next to the stairway. What she did notice, though, was the sound of someone humming softly, drifting out of the kitchen as she closed the front door behind her quietly. As she entered deeper into the house, a slight, flowery fragrance penetrated her nostrils. It was a smell that Sakura, for some reason, associated with years and years of memories.

She'd halted, her foot frozen mid-step. And for one panicky second she'd wondered if there might be a burglar in her house. Then, she'd rationalized that a burglar probably wouldn't hum aloud in private property while–she'd noticed when she'd poked her head into the kitchen–making herself a sandwich. Sakura had tried to recognize the figure standing there, bent over the sink, a healthy blush staining her cheeks and a pink apron tied around her waist.

Almost as if sensing Sakura's gaze on her, the woman had turned around. Her eyes had widened and the knife she had been holding slipped through her fingers and landed on the kitchen tiles with a soft_ clang_. '"Sakura!'" she'd shrieked, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Mom!" Sakura had squeaked aloud.

Then and there, a thousand emotions all at once inundated her being, and she wasn't sure which one to go with: the happiness and joy she felt at seeing her mom again after–how long had it been? It felt like _ages._ Then there was the re-emerging betrayal and resentment she felt for her mom going AWOL, and then leaving her without a goodbye or a thank you. Contrastingly, there was pity upon remembering how her mother had looked so frail and helpless the last time Sakura had seen her. But finally, there was curiosity over what had happened to transform the woman from the ghostly pale, hollow shadow of what she'd once been to the radiant, beautiful lady who peered uncertainly at her daughter from her spot by the sink.

Lily Haruno still hadn't moved from her position, but tears had begun to well up in her sparkling eyes as she lowered her hands from her mouth.

The reunited daughter and mother simultaneously opened their mouths to say something–the former to yell and the latter to stutter a clumsy greet. But before any sound could escape their lips, they had dropped whatever they had been holding to the floor, sprinted forward to embrace each other, and started to bawl loudly in an emotional catharsis.

That evening, while her mother was cooking dinner, Sakura had been sitting at the kitchen table while Lily Haruno told her all about the place she had been the previous two months. She had told Sakura everything; about how far away it was, and how very different it was compared to Konoha: there were mountains that she could see through her bedroom window, the seemingly endless rain of snow that twirled down out of the cotton sky day after day, and the hail that fell on snow-less afternoons.

Then Lily had told her how she had been ordered to forget all about home for a while. About how she wasn't allowed to write to anyone back home. And about how–even though the reason she had been sent there was her absentee husband's command–the only thing she hadn't been able to forget was Sakura.

Words poured out of her mother's mouth with such immense speed that they almost sounded like unintelligible ramblings when, in fact, they were anguished apologies.

Sakura had lost count of all of the apologies.

But at that moment, she didn't blame her mother. That would come later. For now, she allowed herself to only bask in the happiness that began to seep into her heart, and not of just her mother's physical presence, but of the way Lily didn't stare mindlessly into space anymore, and of the way she seemed to have finally set foot on Earth again.

Sakura lived in ecstasy.

And for a second, she had almost forgotten about Naruto.

* * *

_Loads of thanks to Twinkletoast for being my amazing BETA!_


	18. Story

_Hey, everyone! So how long has it been? I'm not sure- way too long, anyway. And I'm really sorry I keep promising to get my ass to work and get you guys a quick update and then all of a sudden it's three months later and I STILL haven't given you anything. It's just been some tough months, to be honest. It's hard, writing a love story when your parents are getting a divorce._

_Anyhow, now is NOT a time to mope around!_  
_Enjoy this chapter, it's from Sakura's POV. The next one will be from Naruto's!_

* * *

Sakura stepped out of the shadows onto the sunny sidewalk, careful not to trip on her heels. She shook her hair back and shifted her bag on her shoulder, trying to relieve some of its weight. Finally leaving the comfortable environment of her home and exploring the outside world–well, it'd take some getting used to after an entire summer of lying around cryi– er, sleeping.

She sighed. The first day of school always seemed so surreal, and this year even more so than the last. Everything had simply changed in so many ways. Well, actually, it wasn't so much the student's actions, per se, that had changed, or the fact that people still refused to look her in the eye or converse with her… Rather, it was the_ way _they avoided her gaze and ignored her that was different.

In retrospect it had been a pure–if not an irrational–dislike and aversion that had led people to act the way they did. Today, though, it looked as though _shock_ was the cause of their actions. She'd seen tons of students stare at her, and then suddenly tear their eyes away from her no sooner than she had caught them in the act. And even more peculiar was how nobody had bumped into her. _All day_! It actually seemed as though they would jump aside as soon as she came into view, something that Sakura didn't particularly mind, actually. After all, wasn't anything and _every_thing better than people tossing her aside as if she were an empty bag of crisps?

As if she was something worthless, disposable, and insignificant.

Part of the reason for the huge "change" was probably due to Sakura's official entrance to junior-dom, something that automatically propelled her to the higher social hierarchy–she was now older than half of the entire student body.

Another reason, Sakura supposed, was the dramatic self-transformation she had undergone. From the glances she was granted from her own reflection in a classroom door or window, Sakura realized she looked quite different from before the summer vacation. From the black leather jacket, dark skinny jeans and black high heeled boots to the deep red painted lips, wide eyes rimmed with dark mascara, and sour expression, she had certainly become someone entirely new. It was most likely the formidable expression that did the trick. Then again, it might have been odd to find a girl that had expressed such a vast array of emotion: she had once been a miserable, timid creature, and then a girl with an unwaveringly goofy grin, and then someone who had finally become a– well, she didn't like to admit it, but now the resemblance between her and a stereotypical delinquent was truly undeniable.

And even though, Sakura contemplated, that such a figure of society was not in any way remotely like her, she felt that this outer appearance was best-suited–for the moment, at least. She needed to reestablish her life, get it back on track. She needed to regain a sense of trust she'd always succeeded in keeping, even despite everything that had happened. She _needed _people who could treat her equally as they did to others.

And what she needed the most was a sense of normalcy again, at least before a certain _someone_–a sudden wave of pain hit her in the chest–messed everything up.

That was what she needed, yes. But strangely enough, what she wanted was something else entirely.

She wanted _him_. Just _him._ (Again, an annoying twinge of sorrow churned, this time in her stomach.)

Frankly, that was all she wanted.

Was it stupid? Yes.

Ignorant? Yes.

Naive? Probably, yes.

But who could blame her? Through all the hurt, all the shame, and all the anger, she was still a teenage girl in love, a girl in love with an idiot who didn't deserve her. In the _least_.

But there was nothing she could do about it.

Sakura rounded a corner and her house came into view, the yellow stones almost blinding in the afternoon sunlight. With the sun so bright, she moved to cover her eyes, yet something caught her attention.

A dark green mountain bike that most certainly did _not_ belong to her mother was parked on her driveway, leaning against a trash can.

Sakura was still trying to pull her mind away from her earlier ponderings when a lofty voice made her look up.

''Sakura!'' Her mom's head peered down from the high porch, the collar of her light blue blouse just visible above the flower-less wisteria growing along the stone ridge.

''Hey, Mom,'' Sakura greeted, her voice still sounding a little wary.

''Psst, come on up,'' the redhead hissed now, her mouth stretched into a wide grin. In response to her mother's odd behavior, Sakura cautiously slowed her steps as she neared the house. ''There's a young man waiting for you in the living room.''

Sakura arched an eyebrow, trying to force the sudden wave op hope that washed over her down. ''Huh? Who is it?''

''I don't know, but he's quite good looking,'' her mom said with a suggestive wink. Sakura's face must have given away the fact that she wanted to just turn around and run away, because the redhead added, ''If you don't go to him now, I'll have to go sit with him myself.''

Sakura's jaw dropped. ''_Mom_, gross!'' She took a step towards the door.

''I meant showing him embarrassing baby pictures of you, but whatever gets you inside the house is fine with me,'' Lily Haruno snorted. ''I'll bring you guys some drinks later on.''

''Please don't,'' the girl replied, unable to keep a smile from creeping up on her face. She entered, closing the door behind her.

As Sakura took off her coat and hung it from the hat stand in the hall, she took the time to wonder who was waiting for her. A boy, her mom had said. A good looking boy.

Which boy did she know that could have something so important to tell her that he'd come to her house and even offer to stay and wait for her?

Her mind drifted off to a certain blond for what must have been the thousandth time that_ hour_, but she momentarily distracted herself by hastily glancing at her garden (She tried to convince herself that the sick feeling in her stomach was because of seeing all her plants that she had spent months prettying up withering away into obscurity, until the garden had become something of a little graveyard. She knew better, really.).

So when she entered the living room and her eyes darted over to the figure sitting on the couch, she tried not to show the disappointment she felt from not seeing Naruto's blue eyes look back at her (What was _wrong_with her? He'd hurt her, dammit!), but Sasuke Uchiha's dark ones. The disappointment was quickly replaced by puzzlement though.

''Sasuke?''

''Hi,'' he greeted awkwardly, expression stoic.

''Hi,'' Sakura greeted back. She cleared her throat, ''I don't want to be rude or anything, but, er... _Why_ are you here?'' Because honestly, why would she try being nice to a person who had ignored her and made fun of her for her entire life? And_ why _hadn't she cared that he'd been such an ass to her for so long until recently?

Oh, right.

The not-being-in-love-with-him-anymore thing.

''Well,'' the object of her confusion started, ''I heard about you and Naruto...''

Sakura flinched visibly at this, but she quickly composed herself. ''Everyone did,'' she stated, hating how bitter her voice sounded.

''Yeah, but I just wanted to tell you why he acted like such a–''

''Complete asshole?''

''Right,'' he said, a small smirk appearing on his face. Or was it a smile? It didn't matter either way, because it had already disappeared. ''What I wanted to say is that he didn't mean to be. I mean–he meant to, but only in the beginning. He wanted to quit about a week after Ino told him to, you know, do it. But she and I convinced him to go on.''

Sakura took a deep breath to stop herself from yelling at him. ''What was 'it'?'' left her lips instead, ''What was he–were_ you _trying to do?''

Sasuke looked away from her, at some spot on the wall. ''I don't even remember. It was probably stupid.'' He got up and put on the jacket lying on the arm of the couch. ''I think he's in love with you.''

Sakura's eyes doubled in size. ''W-what- wait, _what_?''

''He's in love with you,'' the boy repeated.

''I don't know if it escaped your attention,'' Sakura said slowly, as if trying not to lunge herself at him, ''but he rejected me.''

''I think he couldn't tell you. I think he's been in love with you all this time, but that he somehow–I don't know, suppresses everything. Just woke up one day and wanted to stop loving you. He's an idiot, but he's not a bad person, you know?'' Sasuke looked down. ''Or maybe I'm the idiot. I mean, I'm his best friend, and I only figured this out yesterday. I'm supposed to be a genius, too.''

Sakura's fists clenched and unclenched on both sides of her jeans. ''Stop lying,'' she hissed as tears began to sting in her eyes once more.

What was wrong with her? Lately she was bursting out crying about ten times a day. If she kept these emotional theatrics up, people would think she was pregnant or something!

But even so, _everyone_ had seemed desperate to hurt her one way or another. She was finally getting over Naruto, though somewhat questionable. And here was Sasuke, trying to get her hopes up once again. And for what? So his stupidfuckingjerkidiot_asshole_ best friend could break her heart once again?

''No, I'm not. I swear I'm telling the truth,'' Sasuke said, uncharacteristically desperate.

''Why do you fucking care so much now then, huh? After you've ignored me and treated me like dirt for all my life, why now? _Don't lie to me!_''

Sasuke stood frozen after that, but Sakura wasn't naive enough to think he might be pondering over her words. He was probably only thinking about how the girl standing before him had transformed from the quiet, shy, decent girl she'd been into the swearing, dark-clothed juvenile delinquent she was right now, with lips pressed into a tight line, eyes narrowed and nostrils flared.

''I'm not lying,'' he tried again. ''You're too angry right now. Think about all this later.''

''Fuck you,'' Sakura spat. The boy gave her one last wide-eyed look before putting on his jacket, shaking his head and fleeing the house. ''Don't you dare act as if Naruto and you are the victims here,'' she called after him, taking a step into the doorway so she could look at his back as he opened the front door. ''You're the ones breaking people for fun! You're the ones–'' but the door slammed shut and her shoulders slumped.

It was when she was gulping back whatever amount of sobs forced their way out of her throat that she noticed her mother standing in the kitchen who was holding a serving tray with a teapot and cups.

Sakura stood there, blinking up at the woman and expecting her to flee the house again at any second. So when she put the tray down on a kitchen dresser and walked into the hallway, Sakura squeaked and the tears left her eyes. ''No, mom, please–Don't–''

But Lily hadn't meant to leave. She jumped over to her daughter and pulled her into a suffocating bear hug. ''Oh, honey. Sweet, sweet, sweet–No, don't cry. Shhh.''

It was a tiny bit embarrassing, hearing her mother talk to her as if she were a toddler. But to be honest, Sakura couldn't give a crap. ''Mom!'' she bawled.

''Come on, let's sit down for a while,'' her mom shushed her, ushering her to the couch.

Sakura sat down next to her mother, putting her head in the woman's lap. She closed her eyes and cried and cried until she was sure every last bit of moisture had left her body. She wasn't sure what she cried for, exactly. Whether it was Naruto, or Sasuke, or their prank, or the fact that her mother was with her again. That she was really with her. And that finally there was somebody to hold her as she cried.

''I'm so tired,'' she whispered, her swollen eyes fluttering shut.

''What happened, honey? Why was that boy here? Did he do something to you?''

''He didn't _rape_ me or anything."

''Then what did he do?'' Lily asked again, more insistently this time.

The teenage girl put her hands over her face and wiped away every last tear from her eyes. She didn't move to sit up from her mother's lap, for fear that as soon as she had broken contact with her mother, she'd go away again.

She felt Lily move–probably to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear–and heard the muffled sound of a car passing in the distance. Dully eying the pale shadow of the furniture on the wooden floor, Sakura sucked in a breath and exhaled.

In a hushed voice, she began to tell the story.

* * *

_A LOT of thanks to _**Twinkletoast**_, who saved this chapter and gave me some AMAZING ideas for the following chapters!_

_If you want to, please review. :)_

_~Springflake_


	19. Shut

_Hi there, everyone!_  
_It's been quite a few months, I know that... It's been necessary for me to have a break from Make Believe, though. And it has worked, too! Because when I started writing this chapter, I realised how _easy_ it was all of a sudden-way easier than a few months ago. I guess I needed some time to solve my own problems before I made my characters solve theirs. (:_

_I hope you like this chapter!_

_And LOADS of thanks to **Twinkletoast**, too, for beta-ing like always, and also for telling me that a reader had actually asked her about Make Believe on her FACEBOOK PAGE, and that the story must mean a lot to you guys. So dear readers, thanks a LOT for all of the support, the favourites and the sweet reviews... I know I may not reply at times, but please know that I notice every single favourite, alert and review, and that they make me so happy!_

_Love,_

_Springflake_

* * *

Wednesday.

Naruto hated Wednesdays. Especially the grey, wet ones just after summer vacation. He stared at the rain drops sliding down his window, trying to make them evaporate with his heated glare. He hated rain, too. Not that it didn't suit his particularly bad mood or anything. Because they went together pretty well, he figured. It was just that it reminded him of somebody he'd once almost kissed on the football field.

He groaned, lifting his hand up only to slap it against his face, using quite a lot of force, actually.

Why was he such an _idiot_? He fucked everything up! Why'd he even agree with Ino's plan, anyway? Pretending to befriend someone and then laughing at them behind their back? Yeah, that'd have been a laugh!

Ha-ha.

Yeah, how old was he now? Seven?

Or three, more like it.

Freakin' Ino with her freakin' plans.

He couldn't even remember why he had befriended Ino in the first place, to be honest. When he thought about it, there was nothing particularly appealing about her. Yeah, he supposed she was attractive. So what? She was a proper bitch to just about _everyone_ except her friends, she had the intelligence of a sack of potatoes, she had the worst laugh _ever_... And Naruto wasn't even joking. Imagine a sea lion/donket hybrid. Now imagine the sound it makes.

Yeah, painful.

Even after the disaster with Sakura, the summer vacation had been complete torture. He hadn't wanted to go to France with Ino and Sasuke-he was still pissed off as shit with them-but they'd forced him to come anyway. (''Because you're the only reason Hinata's coming. And if she doesn't come, Kiba and Shino won't come. And if they don't come, Shikamaru'll probably bail out too-besides, I _want_ you to come, Naru!'') He'd mostly spent his time moping around the place, really, and his friends all had stayed out of his way.

After he'd gotten back, things hadn't been much better. He frequented... well, nowhere, honestly, save for the comfort of his living room couch, on which he lay sprawled with a blanket over his head. Any time he'd felt good enough to go outside he'd taken short trips to the supermarket across the street to get sodas. Or he'd just lie on his roof, although that wasn't his favourite place anymore... The sun had beat far too harshly on the brick tiles, heating them up so much that his back had begun to burn. His skin was not the only thing that burned when he lay on the shingled roof–when he lay there, along with his thoughts, he would remember the time when she and he had… His face burned with shame upon remembering her face, her voice, the way he had enjoyed her being there, and then the way the tears rolled down her face when she found out the truth. Reminiscing… it made him feel lonelier than ever.

He huffed once more and tilted his head to rest against the window, closing his eyes against the depressingly dull city view.

How'd things ever get this messed up, anyway? One moment he was on top of the world: popular, rich, a pretty good football player-and the next thing he knew, all his friends annoyed him to death and the school outcast was the person who he, for some reason, couldn't stop thinking about.

Sakura.

He'd hoped six weeks of summer vacation would be enough for him to get his act together and stop seeing her desperate, miserable expression every time he closed his eyes, and stop remembering every single conversation they'd ever had and every crazy face that girl could make.

To stop himself when, again, he tried to draw her smile from his memory or laughed at some thing he remembered she'd said. He couldn't fight these sudden waves of nostalgia. He could only sit quietly and wait for them to pass.

Because they'd have to at some point, right?

He didn't mind being alone in his apartment, really. He wanted to sulk in peace, but that wasn't much of a possibility with his friends buzzing about around him. Being left to his own devices- that was all that he desired. And being around people who were so happy all the time only drove that desire deep within him.

The one thing worse than feeling miserable was feeling miserable when everyone around you is fucking ecstatic. And everyone _was_- or at least it felt so to Naruto. Everywhere he looked were people with goofy smiles listening to crappy summer-themed music and licking ice cream cones, dancing and hopping around as if there was nothing better to do, as if oblivious to his comparative suffering and self-antagonism.

School wasn't a problem for Naruto's need to be alone. Even though his senior year had started two days ago, he'd decided not to go. He figured that until the dean started suspecting that his 'acute pneumonia' wasn't as acute as Naruto-ahem, Naruto's _guardian_, whose voice sounded a bit high pitched due to a cold-had claimed.

A loud buzz echoed throughout the empty apartment, jarring Naruto from his thoughts and resulting in his head colliding against the window.

''Fuck!'' he hissed, clamping his hand around the sore spot on his forehead as he made his way to the phone. Peering at the small monitor above it, he could see somebody very familiar standing at the door.

_Sasuke._

As much as he felt like just pretending he wasn't home, he felt obliged to answer (albeit not very warmly). ''Hey.''

''Naruto, can I come up? It's pouring!''

''I'd like to let you, man, but it seems like the door's stuck or something,'' he lied.

He could see the tiny figure on the screen pulling his hood farther down his face. There were a few seconds of silence before Sasuke said, ''I talked to Sakura.''

Naruto almost dropped the telephone. ''Okay.'' He managed to splutter, hoping that Sasuke hadn't heard the strange crack in his voice.

A pause.

''Don't you wanna know about it?'' Sasuke inquired, his voice barely rising in inflection.

He was probably sick of standing in the rain.

Feigning indifference, Naruto said, ''Fine. What about?''

''I said she should talk to you again.''

Naruto rolled his eyes. ''I tried that. Did she hit you?''

Sasuke cleared his throat. ''I think I fled just in time.''

''Lucky bastard. She's got a mean punch.''

Sasuke shuffled a bit in his spot and tucked his hands in his pockets. ''Hey, I think I'm gonna go. I'm all wet.''

Naruto watched him turn around, feeling slightly conflicted. Sasuke had pretty much encouraged him to go along with Ino's stupid plan. At the other hand, it had mostly been his own fault to begin with. And he _had_ just told him he'd tried to get Sakura to stop ignoring him. Although even trying had been a bit, well, dumb, to say the least.

Sighing, Naruto pushed the button that opened up the door to the building. On the screen, he could see Sasuke's head snap around.

''Guess the door isn't stuck anymore,'' he said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

''Guess so.'' Naruto replied.

Minutes later, both were sitting in Naruto's living room, Sasuke cautious to touch any of the wrappings and spilt food littered on the couch and floor (who knew how long they'd been there?), and Naruto really not giving a crap.

''Planning on coming to school anytime soon?'' Sasuke asked the blond, standing up to open up a window. He didn't care if it was raining; anything was better than the musty air inside.

''Not sure, mum. Why, anyone miss me?''

''You mean that miserable, sulking ass lying around in his own filth all day? Nope, nobody misses _him_.'' Sasuke smirked, earning a groan from Naruto.

''Shut up.''

Sasuke said, ''Why? It's been _two months!_ You can't just stay inside moping forever. Look at this place, it's filthy!'' Naruto looked around his apartment and took notice-for the first time, strangely-how horrible it looked. It hadn't been vacuumed in _ages_, and the carpet was covered in empty beer and coke cans, pizza boxes and other empty packages that had formerly held food. And now that he took a closer look-was that _ketchup_ on the ceiling? ''You can't honestly feel happy being like this. Ino's worried about you-''

''Right, she's probably just worried people will see me like this and think she's got something to do with it.''

''That's not fair, man. You can't blame her.''

''Of course I can! She talked me into tricking Sakura!'' Naruto's voice rose, ''_She _dragged me into this mess!''

There was a moment of silence. ''Love sucks, right?'' Sasuke asked him, innocently.

''Right.''

More silence.

''Wait, _WHAT_?'' Naruto burst out as finally his friend's words sunk in. ''I am _not_ in love with Sakura.''

''Dude.'' Sasuke said simply, arching an eyebrow at him. Naruto snorted and stood up.

''I'll get us some soda from the shop across the street. What do you want?''

''Right, just walk away from everything. That worked the first time.'' Sasuke said, but as Naruto opened the front door he yelled, ''Bring me Sprite!''

* * *

Naruto cursed as he closed the door of the building behind him. He'd forgotten to bring a jacket with him.

Upon deciding that going up once more to retrieve one wasn't worth hearing another once of Sasuke's preachings, he decided to cross the street in a rush and get to the store. Visible through the dark rainy clouds was a streak of orange, indicating that the sun had already begun to set. How late was it, anyway? Moping around sure did take the time out of the day.

The store was actually pretty big for a supermarket in the middle of town _and _for being arbitrarily situated in a street full of high-end, expensive shops. Shops like Gucci and whatever. Vaguely, he wondered why chicks insisted on spending hundreds of bucks on something that could cost only five. But then again, he didn't really care.

He burst through the doors of the supermarket and immediately raked a hand through his hair, sending droplets of rain splashing in the faces of other customers. He hardly took notice of this, though, and slowly-there was no harm in stalling a bit-made his way over to the sodas in the last aisle of the store. Had he looked over at the cash desks, he would have noticed a pink-haired girl sitting behind a cash register flinch at the sight of him and duck frantically, observing him through widened green eyes.

Oblivious to his surroundings, Naruto grabbed a 1,5 litre bottle of Coca-Cola for himself (so he might have a _tiny _Coca-Cola addiction, sue him,) and a can of Sprite for Sasuke (he might have taken a bottle, if Sasuke hadn't been such a know-it-all ass,) and went to pay for it all.

When he had been standing in the line for a few minutes, though, he changed his mind and walked into the snack aisle to grab a bag of chips. Then, as he examined the different labels on each package and tried to decide between barbeque and cheese onion, he heard a voice that made him freeze up immediately.

''I'm serious! Is he gone?''

Naruto ducked underneath the nearest shelve and tried peering into the aisle next to his. All he could make out was a tall blonde woman, but he was certain she wasn't the one that had spoken. He would recognise that voice anywhere.

''Alright, alright. How'd you say he looks?''

''Tall guy, my age, blond hair.''

A few seconds of silence, then, ''Nope, I think he's gone. Why, who is he?''

''Just... Someone I can't stand. Janine, are you_ sure _he isn't there?''

''I think I saw him standing at the cash desks earlier. He's probably gone. Geez, freak out much?''

''Sorry, it's just... I'm done working, and I really don't want to run into him.''

Naruto had a malicious smirk on his face as Sakura uttered this last sentence. This must be a sign. He'd never get a chance like this again!

Suddenly frantic, he dumped the bottles he'd wanted to buy on one of the chips shelves and speedwalked out of the store to wait for Sakura. It only had one exit, and if she wanted to ever go home, she'd have to walk by him.

Naruto was so hyped up that he didn't even notice that the main point of the conversation between Sakura and the girl she'd been talking with was that she didn't want to see him. Or, you know, he didn't care enough.

Because even though he was fairly certain she would rejecting him _again_, he had to make things right. He'd rather poke one of his eyes out with a fork than just let her forget him.

Hypothetically speaking, of course.

''Sakura!'' he yelled when finally, after what felt like ages, he saw her exiting the store, carrying a polka-dotted umbrella. She visibly froze on the spot. It didn't occur to him that it might have been smarter to approach her a bit less frantically. Sakura turned around slowly, eyes huge and-well, _dark_. Really dark. And not just her eyes, but all of the make-up she wore, her clothes, her expression. Everything about her and on her was dark. His jaw dropped.

He quickly overcame his shock when he saw her stepping back, her mouth opening and closing again. ''Wh-''

''No, wait!'' he uttered dumbly, making the mistake to grab her by the shoulder. Her eyes snapped down to his tanned hand and back to him. They quickly filled up with tears. Or at least, that's what Naruto thought had happened. Something akin to sadness had flickered in her eyes, if only for a moment. And now she was angry.

''Don't touch me,'' she spat. The umbrella she carried blocked the already small amount of light there was, making it even harder for Naruto to read her expression. Shocked because of her fierce reaction, he did remove his hand.

He looked up just in time to see her run away, water splashing up her legs with every step.

* * *

When Naruto closed the door to his apartment behind him and trudged into his living room, he felt gloomier than ever. He eyed Sasuke tiredly as he sat down on the couch. Sasuke turned the volu

me of the tv show he was watching down and looked at the wet trail Naruto's sneakers had left on the carpet.  
''Do I want to know?'' he asked, his gaze shifting over to his blond friend, who had leaned back and let his forearm dangle over his eyes.

''Nope.'' Silence followed his reply and briefly, Naruto wondered if he was being let off the hook.

''How about the drinks?''

Naruto gave an annoyed grunt. Obviously, he wasn't. ''I don't want to talk about it.''

''Honestly, I'm just thirsty,'' he defended innocently. ''But if you want to tell me, be my guest.''

Naruto groaned once more and dragged himself up from the couch to put on some dry clothing.

''Let me guess,'' Sasuke said now, his tone different from the one he'd used earlier. Not mocking, but stern. ''You ran into Sakura, basically ambushed her, freaked her out, caused her to run off, and now you're just whining.''

Naruto stood still for a moment, his jaw dropping. Then he snapped, ''Fuck off,'' and stomped over to his bedroom.  
When he emerged again it was dark out and it had stopped raining. The windows were open, causing the room to be filled with that fresh scent that always comes with heavy rainfall. When Naruto's eyes darted to the couch, he found Sasuke sprawled out on it, stuffing his mouth with fistfuls of microwave popcorn he'd probably found in the kitchen. He didn't bother to look up at his friend, keeping his eyes glued onto the television screen.

''What's on?'' Naruto tried.

''It's a show about an idiot losing the girl he's in love with because he's too busy feeling sorry for himself,'' Sasuke explained innocently.

Naruto looked at the television, only to see that Sasuke was actually watching a cooking show. ''Dick,'' he muttered, plopping down on a chair.

''You know I'm right.''

Naruto pretended he was very interested in the mustard and honey soup the cook on the screen was making.  
Sasuke didn't speak again, which, for some reason, annoyed Naruto. Was he so sick of feeling sorry for himself that he liked getting all of his own faults thrown in his face?

He wasn't saying Sasuke was right. Because he wasn't.

Or maybe he was.

Shit.

''So what am I supposed to do?'' Naruto sighed in defeat, ruffling a hand through his loose hair-it hadn't been spiked in it's usual fashion for some time.

''No more excuses, man. You want her, she wants you. Go do something about it.''

Naruto was about to deny 'wanting' Sakura, but he stopped himself. Because for the first time, he realised what utter bullshit that was.

He did want her. He liked-no, he _loved_ her. Everything about her. He loved her crazy faces, her sarcastic sense of humour, her insane mood swings, her obsession with sunsets, her courage, her friendliness, the way she stopped blinking almost entirely when she was reading a book she really liked, the way everything she wore seemed to be just one size too small on her, her love of coffee, her beautiful green eyes, the way she would stand on her tip toes when she was angry, her horrible singing, the scar on her forehead she'd once gotten during a school trip, how she was genuinely interested in his art, the way her smile would light up the room. Everything.

Just everything.

And He was willing to fight for her.

The truth settled into his stomach suddenly, and then he knew. Her anger didn't mean she never wanted to see him again. It just meant that he had hurt her. That she was still hurt.

And if she was still hurt, that meant that she wasn't over him.

It wasn't too late.

''If you leave, lock the door, will you?'' Naruto said, standing up abruptly.

''Sure,'' Sasuke said, grinning.

''Oh, and thanks!'' came the scream from the hallway after Naruto sprinted out of the room.

''Shut up and run!'' Sasuke yelled back.

The front door slammed shut.


	20. Perfect

Naruto didn't know how long he'd been running through the pouring rain.

Minutes?

Hours?

He would have liked to have at least some idea of time, but his mind was kind of preoccupied.

Sakura.

Sakura.

Sakura.

He skidded to a halt at her door, skipping up the steps in a frantic dash. All of this would have looked perfectly heroic, had he not slipped on the welcome mat and landed on his butt, his legs resting vertically against the door.

''Shit!'' He winced. He might have laughed at this ridiculous situation, if he wasn't the proudest, most self-absorbed person he knew. Which he was, just to clear that up.

So he was embarrassed, and somewhat angry at the situation.

Especially when Sakura opened the door and the entire lower half of his dripping body landed in her hall with a thud.

By the time he gathered himself enough to look her in the eye, she'd crossed her arms and leaned against the doorpost.

His stomach churned at the sight of her puffy, tear-glazed eyes and then - somehow, his stomach flipped. In the best way.

She sniffed, arched an eyebrow and nodded at his legs, draped out over the floor, ''I just cleaned that.''

He took in her face, make-up running down her chin and eyes, her hair plastered to her forehead, her expression tired.

And then the strangest thought ran through his mind.

_Beautiful._

She cleared her throat. ''Is there a reason you're here, staining my carpet and soiling my air?''

Whoa, snarky.

He kinda liked it.

He scrambled to his feet and managed to choke out, ''I need to talk to you.''

''Oh really?'' Again with that arched eyebrow.

He stood there, staring down at her awkwardly. All of a sudden he couldn't remember how to stand. How did his cool pose look again?

_'Lean against the wall!_' he commanded himself inwardly, _'do it!'_

He started to move, but changed his mind. It'd look strained. This stuff had to flow naturally.

Sakura's green eyes flicked to his twitching hands.

''So...'' she started, probing him to start talking.

''I, uh...'' Naruto stood there, not knowing where to put his hands. ''I,'' A pause. He gulped and resisted the urge to face palm himself. He sounded like a - like a weirdo! ''Can I come in?'' He whispered.

Sakura groaned and stepped to the side, allowing him to enter. She slammed it shut behind the both of them.

''You know what?'' She said as she stepped into her living room. She stopped walking in the middle of the room and turned around, crossing her arms once more. ''You've got a whole lot of nerve and a whole lot of stupidity, coming here.''

He stood there gaping at her.

Sakura exhaled through her mouth slowly. She seemed to be more uncomfortable than she looked: she couldn't look him in the eye for more than three seconds at a time. ''You don't even have anything to say to me, do you?''

he kept standing there motionlessly, looking uncomfortable.

''Argh!'' She called out, thrusting her arms into the air exasperatedly.

_'Say something, you idiot. Now.'_

''I do have something to say.'' He said. He was happy to find that his voice didn't sound nearly as weak as he felt.

''Oh really? And what would that be?'' Sakura mocked, although her face remained expressionless.

_'I was empty but you filled me up.'_

Yeah, as if he'd say that. She'd laugh.

Words.

Words, now!

Ugh, he never was good with words anyway.

So he did what he knew for a fact he _was_ good at. He stepped forward and pulled Sakura flush against him, crushing his lips to hers.

She gasped into his mouth but didn't push him away. He saw this as an encouragement to continue and slowly dragged his lips over hers, tugging her top lip up with his.

Sakura closed her eyes.

She tangled her hands in his spikes and pulled him even closer, fully able to feel every inch of his defined body, what with both of them still being wet from the rain.

Somewhere in the back of her mind Sakura knew this was wrong, that this wasn't how it was supposed to go - she was supposed to yell at him and hate him and throw him out on the sidewalk - but this didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Not that they were cold. Not that some of her smudged make-up ended up in their mouths and on his face. Not that she was pretty sure she loathed him.

The eruption of sparks that he ignited wherever their skin touched. The swirly feeling in her head. The urge to giggle into his mouth.

Oh my.

This explosion of passion seeping through her veins was unlike anything she'd ever felt before.

Her first kiss.

She realized one of her hands had drifted back down and that Naruto had captured it in his. He rubbed a circle on the back of her hand and she hooked her fingers through his. She was sure that nothing in the world could feel quite as good as - whatever this was.

But then the tip of his tongue touched hers, and reality crashed down on her like rain on her roof.

She pushed him off her roughly - Naruto's eyes still half-lidded, like he just woke up from a very good dream.

For a second they did nothing but stare at each other, the both of them panting.

''Wait.'' She managed to breathe. ''You can't just _- you can't just kiss me_.''

''Why not?'' Naruto said. He cracked a smile. ''Seemed like you were enjoying yourself.''

Sakura's jaw dropped. ''That- is beside the point!'' she huffed angrily. But his satisfied expression didn't waver. Annoyed beyond reason, she yelled, ''You're so infuriating! You made a_ bet _over my feelings, you wanted to hurt me. And you did!'' She put her hand on her forehead. ''You did hurt me. You broke my heart. You won. Woohoo. I'd throw confetti, but fuck you.''

His careful smile slipped.

For the umpteenth time that day, he didn't know what to say. She was hurt.

She was hurt, and it was his fault.

Her lips were pressed together tightly. ''Just... Please, I told you, you won. Like, there's no need for you to be here right now. I'm pretty damn sure you can't mess me up further, I hope you enjoyed whatever you think is so enjoyable about hurting people, and now you can go ahead and walk out of my life forev-''

"-I love you.'' He blurted.

Sakura stood there, blinking up at him.

''You... You what?'' she peeped.

''I love you.'' His town lowered and he frowned, as if he was choosing his words very, very carefully. He probably was. Saying the good stuff always was more Sakura's thing, anyway. ''I'm in love with you.'' He said finally. His eyes snapped to hers, and suddenly he didn't seem insecure anymore. ''I have loved you. Since fifth grade. I'm pretty damn sure you have my balls on a plate. I'm also pretty damn sure that nothing I could possibly do in my entire life could make me deserve to be with a girl like you.'' He took a deep breath, ''I'm completely hung up on you.''

Sakura's wide eyes watched him, her expression unreadable. Her lips came apart, but then closed again.

He continued, looking less calm by the minute, ''I'm sorry. I'm a disgusting bastard. I've known that all my life, but I never really cared - 'till I hurt you. '' A deep sigh. ''Just please, forgive me. If you don't, I promise I will walk out of that door and never speak to you again. It won't be easy, but I'll do it.''

Sakura was torn. She felt so many emotions rush through her - so many contradictions - and she had no idea which one had the upper hand. Anger. Maybe it was anger. Or relief. Or happiness. Or sadness. Or all of them. Probably all of them.

''Tell me what to do.'' Naruto whispered, his eyes pleading.

So Sakura stood there, looking at him straight in the eye. She tried to describe him in her head.

Tan skin. Sun-bleached hair. Red cheeks. Almost feminine eyes, an inhuman shade of blue... There was a brown spot in his right eye, she noticed for the first time. It reminded her of an island.

All the bitterness was gone.

She narrowed her eyes in puzzlement. How – how odd. This tightness in her chest had been there for such a long time now that she had forgotten it was there.

This wide-eyed realization came with another one.

She'd never hated Naruto.

She'd been angry.

At the same time she realizes this, she admits, ''I could never not want to be with you.'' She didn't even think it through. These words were the sad truth. The sky is blue. Chocolate is good. I could never not want to be with you. ''Sometimes I wish I could. You're kind of an ass, you know.'' She added, to make sure he knew that just because she happened to be hopelessly in love with him, didn't mean that she idolized him.

Despite himself, Naruto felt his mouth stretching into a crooked smile. ''So are you.''

And she laughed because she knew it was true. Even if it was the first time he'd ever said it. ''We'll have to work on that.''

Naruto shuffled closer to her. ''So does that mean we will work on it? On us?''

And she beamed, ''Yeah, that's what it means.''

Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck faster than she knew she could. He pretended she wasn't almost choking him and hugged her back tightly.

Have you ever felt so much for such a long time that not feeling a lot somehow feels like a feeling?

Whatever that was called, it pooled over them.

''You filled me up.'' Naruto whispered into her hair.

And Sakura could only smile into his damp sweater.

''Geek.''

* * *

So there they are, two silhouettes in a dull living room, completely and hopelessly lost in each other. Two people that made so many mistakes that it's no wonder that for once everything would go right.

This quiet peace could only last for so long, though. Lily Haruno comes home and Sakura has to restrain the both of them from attacking each other, both for the exact same reason. And Sakura feels like crying. The happy kind. Even if that seems bad. The love these people have in their hearts is almost too much to bear.

They eventually return to school. Naruto shamelessly introduces his new girlfriend to his friends, which people accept. But Naruto and Sakura like to hang out together more than with Naruto's jock friends. Sasuke seems to think the same thing, because he joins the two of them. After less than a month the three of them are like a team. They never talk to Ino again, and Ino never talks to them again.

Their senior year flies by. Sakura gets accepted into Southern University and Naruto gets offered a football scholarship at Konoha University. Their colleges are three miles apart, and they decide to move in together. They get drunk. They fight. They break up for about two days until they get drunk again.

She gets a card from her father with a picture of a Canadian town named 'Hope' on it. It says nothing else but "Love, dad,'' and he takes it from her hands without a word and sticks it onto the fridge, the picture facing the room.

Jiraiya comes to visit and what started off as an inappropriate joke ends with both men standing on either side of the table, shouting things they don't mean at each other at the top of their lungs. It takes about two of Sakura's speeches for them to get over themselves.

He grows a mustache and she teases him mercilessly until finally he shaves it off again.

They graduate college and Sakura starts as an intern in the Hospital, causing her to get back in touch with Tsunade, too, who quit her job at the high school. Naruto plays for the Konoha Foxes and gets them into the state championships where they ultimately lose in the finals. He swears they'll win it next year and he's right.

Sakura discovers she's pregnant on the same night Naruto proposes to her – it wouldn't be Naruto if that didn't go completely wrong, of course. He'd planned to have the canteen staff at the hospital put it under the cookie she always gets with her night-shift coffee, but the staff ended up giving it to the only other pink-haired intern that happened to work the same night, which resulted in a very awkward moment between her and her boyfriend. The entire thing gets sorted out quickly, but only after Naruto has a near mental breakdown.

Afterwards they laugh about it until they can hardly breathe.

They agree on Iris for a girl and Toby for a boy – Naruto's mom used to say there was something about that name.

They marry on the beach on the kind of static-loaded day that isn't so rare for July, but the wind blows and they have to rearrange the crimson tip-up seats placed in the sand so the wind won't carry their voices away. Jiraiya walks her down the aisle. Karin shows up with that silver-haired boy from high school she used to hate. Sasuke cries. It starts storming in the middle of the ceremony and they end up finishing it with the priest, Naruto and Sakura huddled in a bus shelter, the rest of the guests crowded around it. Lily catches the bouquet.

It is perfect.

* * *

Sometimes you reach what's real just by making believe.

- Carrie Underwood

* * *

**Almost a year. It has been almost a year after my last update. I left you guys hanging after the second-to-last chapter. FOR A YEAR.**

**I'm the worst person in the world. I deserve to be trapped in the hell of high school forever – funny cause that is actually what I did to myself. I'm doing a year of high school in the good ol' USA, remember?**

**For those that gave up on this story: I don't blame you.**

**For those that didn't: I don't deserve you.**

**I just hope that this ending lived up to your expectations. I know it did to mine.**

**It's been an amazing journey we've all taken together. So much has happened since I started Make Believe – in your lives, too, without a doubt. I like to think we've all grown, although that is without a doubt not relative to my story in any way. **

**I like to think it is..**

**A few of you sent me PM's, asking me about Make Believe's progress. I can honestly say that without you reminding me, this chapter would have taken another few months. Thank you so much Turson, ravens-narutofan, raidersfan777, ahmadaziz, Skatergurl32, n0tafangirl, S. Rowanhill 20 (without the spaces, for some reason FF doesn't let me put your name in) and IvyZee.**

**And thanks to the lovely Twinkletoast for being my faithful BETA - we teamed up a bit too late, and I forgot to consult you for this chapter entirely, but you were always full of amazing ideas, and your wide vocabulary raised this story to a whole new level.**

**Also thanks to harunoanduzumaki, who actually drew the post-transformation version of my Sakura. It's beyond gorgeous, and you can check it out at www. com./art/ Make-Believe-286567445 without the spaces.**

**So here we are. At the end of my very last author's note on Make Believe. I'm getting all emotional and nostalgic and stupid (are those tears**_**,**_** pricking at my eyes?) – but I don't want to make you guys wait any longer.**

**I'll go upload it right now. Please tell me what you think.**

**Oh, and I started a new NaruSaku story. It is AU – because it's what I do best, sadly – but is different from Make Believe in every way. I tried out a new writing style and everything. It'll be more humorous. That's if you like my sense of humor, anyway. Even I have to be in the mood for it.**

**One last fun fact: today is exactly 3 years ago that I posted the first chapter. I didn't even plan it. The chance is 1 in 365 and I managed to upload it exactly March 19th, without even realizing. I've been marveling at that for about half an hour now.**

**Okay, now I'm really done.**

**Breathe in.**

**Upload.**


End file.
